


Small, Steady Steps

by bitsori



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Character Study, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Feelings Realization, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Male Friendship, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends, Through the Years
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-11-09 07:07:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 47,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17997203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitsori/pseuds/bitsori
Summary: Falling in love isn't always a steep dive; sometimes falling in love happens slowly, gradually,comfortably, and you don't really realise until you're right there at the bottom. And if you're lucky enough, you find that you didn't fall alone.--or: Seungmin enters university, and grows up through the years. ( AU )





	1. i: records spinning, we don’t notice

**Author's Note:**

> [ ☆ ] This is another self-indulgent fic, which means that all my favorite SKZ ‘ships are going to be featured in some capacity, but this is also mainly Seungmin-centric, with Seunglix as the main ship. I’d like to think that it’s just as much about 00z’s friendship, through Seungmin's POV. 
> 
> [ ☆ ] This was supposed to be a long one-shot, to be presented in four sections, but then as I was writing, the different sections got longer and longer so— here, just have it in four installments, I guess. I hope you stick with me and the story to the end, hah.

 

❦

 

 

 

 _When the new semester starts, I gather all my books_  
_I used to think it was too heavy_  
_And put it down in front of the classroom_  
_Now that I’m an adult_ _  
_ Responsibilities are even heavier

“Young Wings,” Stray Kids

  
  


 

“Hi! You’re a freshman too, right? Architectural Engineering?”

It’s the first day of university orientation, and the boy just marches over to Seungmin, pointing at the color coded pamphlet that he has in his hand. It takes Seungmin a couple of seconds to realise that the stranger is holding an identical pamphlet of his own.

“Uh, yeah—?” Seungmin’s brow creases; he’s a little put off by the round-cheeked boy’s daring, but also mildly relieved because as much as he’s loath to admit, he had been nervous, going around by himself.

“Oh, good!” The boy lets out a very obviously relieved sigh; and then he flashes a big and bright grin at Seungmin before giving him a polite bow. “I’m Han Jisung— I’m an Architectural Engineering freshman too, so let’s be friends!”

“Um—” He’s a little apprehensive; the boy is practically buzzing with energy which renders Seungmin somewhat wary. Still, the idea of having someone to talk with is appealing; besides, orientation is partly about meeting new people and making friends. “Okay,” he answers finally, a small smile gracing his lips. “I’m Kim Seungmin.”

Once the introductions are done, Jisung visibly relaxes; he keeps his bright grin plastered on his face, but his more laid back demeanor has Seungmin warming up to him easier. To be fair, despite Seungmin’s initial reservations about Jisung, he ends up making the morning pass by faster, and much more efficiently. He isn’t afraid of going up to random people and asking them Real Questions such as,

“Sunbaenim, where exactly is Area TBA?” And then he points at the paper in his hand, header: OT Day 1, and then slides his finger down to the correct bullet point: Loot Bag Claim Booth, Area TBA, Opens 11.30 AM.

The way the guy they’d approached holds back a snort, or how the girl with him digs her elbow against his side isn’t lost on Seungmin, but Jisung just keeps smiling at them, waiting for an answer.

“TBA stands for to be announced,” the girl eventually answers, and this is when Seungmin thinks that Jisung’s pluck has at least saved them time, because just minutes before he had been insisting they just find Area TBA in the map provided by the university in their OT invitational packet, especially since he didn’t want to go up to seniors, acting like the fresh, new meat he actually is. This way, at least Jisung is the only one to make a fool out of himself, but it helped saved Seungmin time and energy too - so he’s thankful, not that he’s ready to admit it out loud.

“But,” the girl continues, giving Jisung a warm and friendly smile that matches him, “I think I saw them setting up this booth right behind Dormitory A so you can try there first.”

“Thank you, sunbaenim!” Jisung chirps happily, bowing politely and gratefully before turning to face Seungmin again. Behind them, Seungmin can hear the guy whispering to the girl, we should have had a little fun with with the freshmen! which almost makes Seungmin melt with heated embarrassment, even as he feels annoyance bubbling forth from within him. Ssh, the girl hisses back. They were cute, don’t be rude. He thinks there are at least some nice people like her, giving him hope - he decides right then and there that he’ll be a nice sunbae himself, once it’s his turn.

“I passed by the dormitory buildings earlier, so at least I know where we’re headed now,” Jisung is telling him, clearly oblivious to what the older students were talking about.

This kind of irks Seungmin, so he decides, “Let’s skip the loot bags.”

“What?!” Jisung gasps, actually looking quite affronted at the suggestion. “But— freebies,” he presses, like that should be enough to change Seungmin’s mind. “We get free things. How can you just say no to that?”

“I’m hungry,” Seungmin tries to argue. “Let’s get something to eat.”

“Seungmin,” Jisung counters, and it’s not like the two of them had explicitly agreed to drop formalities so hearing his name slide off Jisung’s tongue so casually is a bit discomfiting, but he did agree to be ‘friends,’ so he supposes he should learn to get used to it. “Seungmin, maybe they have free food at the goodie bag station too,” Jisung points out, and really, Seungmin couldn’t care less about free food - it’s not like he’s broke and dying of starvation. He can afford to eat quite well, but Jisung is already pouting at him so he figures arguing would be more trouble than it’s worth.

“Fine,” he gives in, but not without a patented eye roll. “But if there’s a massive line, I’m leaving you and finding something to eat by myself.”

 

 

 

The decision to follow Jisung to 'Area TBA’ turns out to be another good idea that Seungmin will never admit to (at least not out loud, and not in front of Jisun) because it’s after they claim their Freshman Freebies™ that they run into Hyunjin.

Seungmin and Hyunjin aren’t exactly friends, but they’re at least mildly acquainted. The first time they’d met was way back in high school when Seungmin’s baseball team went up against Hyunjin’s school. They didn’t even really, truly meet at the time; half of the team from Hyunjin’s school was sick from food poisoning or something equally as ridiculous, and Hyunjin was one of the substitute players pulled from the other sports teams their school had in order to complete their numbers. Seungmin, as pitcher for his team, had, of course, struck him out, and the only reason that Hyunjin had even made a mark was because the girls from their own side of the field had kept screaming for him.

Apparently that was enough for him to make a mark in Hyunjin’s memory too, though, because when Jisung literally bumps in Hyunjin’s companion, it’s Hyunjin whose expression lights up at the sight Seungmin.

“Seungmin-ssi!” He greets, eyes reflecting nervous excitement. “It’s you, right? Kim Seungmin-ssi, Pitcher, #7?”

Jisung’s obvious surprise - eyes wide, jaw slack - is matched by Seungmin’s own. He hadn’t expected that Hwang Hyunjin, former prince among high school students in their district, would have remembered him.

“Yeah,” Seungmin confirms, nodding. “Uh— this is Han Jisung,” he adds, gesturing towards Jisung. “He’s on the same track as I am.”

“Oh, cool!” Hyunjin grins and lowers his head towards Jisung’s direction. “I’m Hwang Hyunjin, and this—” He gestures towards his companion this time, Seungmin’s gaze following and falling on a petite looking male. He’s taller than Jisung, but his face is small, and he has big eyes that make him look younger than all three of them. “This is Felix. He’s an Industrial Engineering freshman, like me.”

“Nice to meet you,” Felix says in English, with an accent that seems familiar but Seungmin can’t quite place. That isn’t  what surprises Seungmin though; the tone of his voice is deep and gravelly - a complete one-eighty compared to his otherwise bright demeanor.

“He’s from, uh— Australia,” Hyunjin explains, also in English. “But he says he can understand us,” he adds, sounding just a tad relieved to be able to switch back to his native tongue. Seungmin can tell that his English is nervous and rusty, at best.

“Oh,” he nods, regarding Felix with some curiosity.”Nice to meet you, too,” he echoes; he isn’t that confident in his conversational English, either, but he supposes he can only get better with practical use.

“Cool!” Jisung is as open and friendly with Hyunjin and Felix as he has been all morning with Seungmin. “Australia? That’s cool— that’s where you grew up?” He’s switching between Korean and English, like it’s so natural for him to do just that despite the words leaving his tongue heavily accented.

Felix nods, just as Hyunjin opens his mouth to speak again, “Do you guys, uh, want to go around together?” He sounds unsure, but hopeful, and Seungmin wonders if it’s because he’s feeling self-conscious about his language skills with Felix. Either way, before Seungmin can respond, Jisung is already answering for both of them with a hearty nod.

“The more the merrier, right?” Jisung declares, while Felix nods along. “Let’s go get lunch, I’m starving!” Jisung adds, while Hyunjin exchanges glances with Seungmin, who just shrugs - he’s pretty sure, considering that him and Jisung belong to a different department from Hyunjin and Felix, that they’d end up separated sooner or later, but he supposes this is another argument that wouldn’t be worth it.

  
  


 

It turns out that Seungmin is wrong - at least for DAY ONE. Jisung is quick to compare his photocopied itinerary with Hyunjin’s, and they find out that most of the activities for the first day of orientation are free for all events welcome to all Engineering freshmen.

“Oh,” Seungmin mutters to himself. “Okay.” He finds that he doesn’t really mind. Hyunjin is courteous, but friendly, while Felix is quiet, but agreeable. Not bad, considering Jisung has more than enough energy for all four of them. They get more than a few heads turning their way, which Seungmin is sure is because of Hyunjin, but every time it’s Jisung with a smug smile.

“So hard to be this good looking in real life,” Jisung declares, half snickering, half wheezing. They’re watching a game of soccer between juniors from the Architectural Engineering and Environmental Engineering departments, and Seungmin can’t tell if he’s being serious, or if he’s joking, so he just snorts, but both Hyunjin and Felix laugh heartily.

“Shut up,” Seungmin snaps before he can stop himself; he’s supposed to be more patient and forgiving - these are resolutions he’d made for himself, but Jisung is making it hard. He winces when Jisung’s jaw drops, and he sighs, prepared to make an apology - as ridiculous as Jisung is being, Seungmin hates that he let it get to him. “Sorry—” he starts, but Felix suddenly interrupts, coughing back uncontrollable laughter. It’s enough to break the suddenly tense atmosphere, because within seconds all four of them are laughing together.

“It’s cool, Seungminnie,” Jisung says, snickering as he casually slings an arm around Seungmin’s shoulders. “I’m sure some of them were looking at you, too.” This causes both Hyunjin and Felix to double down on the laughter, while Seungmin decides that if Jisung is going to be this bold-faced with him, then it should be fine if he digs his elbow hard against Jisung’s side. Which he does, and when Jisung whines in response, Seungmin himself resumes his laughter.

“Violence is not a solution to your problems, mister,” Jisung grumbles, but the corner of his mouth is turned up, and Seungmin thinks that means they’re good.

“Shut up,” Seungmin says again, but this time there’s no bite to it.

“Don’t wanna,” Jisung returns, his grin cheeky. “Anyway, you know who probably turns heads even more than I do?”

“Hyunjin?” Felix offers, to which Seungmin almost laughs again, especially because Felix sounds so earnest about it.

“The Architectural Engineering department’s goalkeeper,” Jisung says, ignoring Felix’s suggestion. Upon squinting at the male in question, Seungmin thinks that he’s somewhat familiar. “He’s… beautiful.”

“He—” Hyunjin winces, his voice dropping to a hushed whisper as if he’s ashamed to say what he’s saying. “He kind of has a funny way of goalkeeping.”

Right. Seungmin remembers that Hyunjin was originally from his school’s soccer varsity in high school, so he should know what he’s talking about; but then, even Seungmin can tell that the goal keeper isn’t doing his job well.

“He sucks,” he says bluntly. “He’s the reason our team is losing.”

“It doesn’t matter with a face like that,” Jisung points out, and beside him, Felix looks like he’s staring at said goalkeeper intently, as if doing his best to understand what Jisung means. “I talked to him up close earlier,” Jisung adds. “His nose is art— he’s like a moving sculpture.”

Seungmin snorts, because that’s when it clicks why he’s familiar. “Jisung, I’m pretty sure he tried to mess with us earlier. If his girlfriend wasn’t so nice and upfront, and told us exactly what TBA is, we would have probably ended up lost, and late to your beloved freebies.”

“Sssh,” Jisung shakes his head at him, eyes still glued to their department sunbae who had let yet another ball slide right past him, earning their competitors another point. Felix cheers, and Seungmin groans. “Also, don't be too quick to assume that was his girlfriend,” Jisung adds after letting out a loud boo.

“I think what Jisung means is that with a face like his,” Hyunjin says, already laughing even as he talks, “it doesn’t matter either.”

“See? Hyunjin already knows me so well!” Jisung asserts, grinning toothily and playfully punching Hyunjin’s arm.

Later that evening, they have an outdoor party where barbecued meat and alcohol flow freely all around - Seungmin shouldn’t be surprised, because he’s heard that this is usually how these things go, but it’s still complete culture shock for him, anyway. Unlike a lot of his peers in high school who he knows have all gotten drunk off beer and soju long before they were officially allowed to, Seungmin has had exactly one shot of soju his entire, and it only happened after he turned legal earlier that year, and it was because his father had sat him down on New Year’s Eve to congratulate him for ‘turning into a man.’ He didn’t have much of an opinion on the taste, really, so he hangs back, only taking shots whenever a sunbae passes him one.

Jisung’s the life of the party though, taking shots in between pouring drinks for sunbaes, who all seem to warm up to him quite nicely. Felix, as well, is getting quite the attention, as older students ask him to recite various English phrases, his Australian accent apparently enough to entertain them.

“Are you cold?” At one point, late in the evening, when most of the other students have dispersed and formed their own smaller groups, Hyunjin finds Seungmin.

“Um, a bit,” Seungmin admits as he hugs himself, rubbing his own arms for warmth. It’s the middle of February, so while spring is approaching, it’s not quite there just yet.

“Here, let’s share,” Hyunjin says, offering the blanket that he has wrapped around his shoulders. He parks himself on the bench where Seungmin is seated, and extends one end of the blanket to drape it around Seungmin as well.

“Thanks,” Seungmin mumbles, unconsciously moving close towards Hyunjin. At the back of his mind, he wonders if it’s safe to refer to him as his friend now - Jisung and Felix, too. “You know,” he says, choosing to start a conversation instead, “I don’t understand why we’re out here, in a pension in the middle of nowhere, having this orientation. It kind of defeats the point, don’t you think? Shouldn’t we be doing this in campus grounds instead?” This has been on his mind the entire day, especially after he and Jisung had issues navigating the area - at least he’s visited the actual university grounds before, after he had found out he'd been accepted, because he wanted to familiarize himself with the buildings. (Also because he was really, really excited, as geeky as that might sound.)

“My dad says back in his day, the OT was a one day event held at school grounds, actually,” Hyunjin shares, eyes bright and shiny as he laughs. “I guess it just kind of got grander in scale, and these days, orientation is like a full scale MT.”

“That makes more sense to do,” Seungmin mutters. But he supposes, he can’t complain too much, because according to his orientation pamphlet, part of the purpose is to befriend new peers, which he’s managed to do, largely thanks to Jisung and his shamelessness.

“I guess this is a more… um? Effective way? To bond with your new classmates?” Hyunjin offers, almost as if he'd just read Seungmin’s thoughts. “I’m so glad Felix and I ran into you and Jisung. It was really nice seeing a familiar face.”

“I’m sure a lot of others would have eagerly become your friend,” Seungmin muses.

“Having someone familiar makes me feel more at ease,” Hyunjin explains; which is silly, really, because the two of them were just as much strangers with each other before that day. “But Jisung and Felix— having them around has been fun, too.” Hyunjin laughs, eyes crinkling like half moons, and for a split second, Seungmin gets what the all the fuss about Hwang Hyunjin is.

The moment is brief, however, because he suddenly realises something. “Hey, come to think of it, have you seen Jisung and Felix?”

Hyunjin immediately snorts, and Seungmin narrows his eyes, taking the reaction to mean that he has.

“Even better— or worse? I saw them, together. Maybe hanging onto each other a little too much.”

“Huh?”

Hyunjin laughs again. “I’m sharing a room with Felix, right? And so I was there earlier, grabbing this,” he tugs at a corner of the blanket they're sharing, “and then the door just opened— and they entered, tongues shoved down each other's throats.”

“Oh.”

“I think they were both pretty drunk,” Hyunjin adds, still laughing. “Not sure they noticed me— but it doesn't matter, because the funniest thing? By the time I left them, they were both passed out, on top of each other, in Felix’s bunk.”

“Wait, what—?!” Seungmin is confused, and Hyunjin unhelpfully laughs harder.

“I don't know but I’m kind of glad, I guess. They're both pretty drunk, so it's best if they just sleep it off. Felt a bit awkward to stay in the room with them like that, though.”

“Ah.” Seungmin snorts. “Guess I’m left without a roommate, then.”

“Unless you want to help me haul Jisung off, back to your room,” Hyunjin suggests; this time it's Seungmin's turn to laugh. “Guess that sunbae’s pretty face didn’t matter that much in the end either,” Hyunjin adds.

“Maybe Jisung just has a type,” Seungmin jokingly scoffs.  “I mean, Felix is pretty, too.”

“Oh? You think? Is that your type?” Hyunjin asks, his tone light and teasing.

Seungmin feels warmth creeping up his cheeks for some reason. “He isn’t,”  he mumbles, too tired to sound more decisive. “Besides, Jisung’s his type, and that’s what seems to matter here now, don’t you think?”

  


 

— ❦ —

  


 

“You’re hungover,” Seungmin observes in a disapproving tone as Jisung slides into the seat next to his. “Again.” His friend just grunts in response, all too used to Seungmin’s nagging by now. “You do realise that finals start next week,” Seungmin continues with a sigh. Jisung, as usual, just nods before leaning down and pressing his cheek against the flat surface of the desk in front of him. He isn’t the only one in class with a very obvious hangover - around a third of their classmates are sporting identical headaches and looking like death thanks to a night of heavy drinking, and considering this 8 AM is held in a medium-sized, lecture hall that holds up to a hundred students, a third is a sizeable amount.

“I know,” Jisung mumbles. “Next year there’s no way I’m taking a class that’s earlier than 10 AM.”

“Suit yourself,” Seungmin answers noncommittally.

The truth is that Seungmin’s also gotten used to this attitude from Jisung as well. Second day of their university orientation, Jisung had attended their departmental introduction in exactly the same condition, and Seungmin had needed to keep an eye on him for the rest of the day, nudging him awake whenever he’d doze off, and once, rubbing his back when he’d needed to throw up in some bushes behind the resort’s rec hall.

“The start of a beautiful friendship,” Jisung always jokes, whenever Seungmin brings it up. In return he’d roll his eyes, and point out that Jisung owes him, and that one day he’s going to collect. Several months have passed since then, and instead of ‘collecting’ anything, he keeps lending Jisung his lecture notes instead.

“Seungmin—” Jisung whispers, trying to get his attention.

He has his notebook opened to the latest page, because as a habit, he tries to reread his notes from the previous session before their professor arrives. Meanwhile, Jisung’s habit is to bother him whenever he does this.

“Seungmin,” he repeats, this time, whinier.

“What—” Seungmin finally answers in a deadpan tone, even though he keeps his eyes glued to his notes.

“I worked my way up to two—” Jisung declares in a tired and sleepy tone, lazily holding up two fingers to show him, “—and a half bottles of soju last night.” And then he flashes a satisfied grin as his hand drops back down to his side.

Seungmin snorts and shakes his head. ‘I’m going to work on my alcohol tolerance,’ was one of the personal resolutions Jisung had shared with Seungmin (and Hyunjin, and Felix, because somehow the four of them had become some kind of unit) a couple of months earlier, after orientation, when the semester officially started. Seungmin thought it was a dumb resolution, and he never failed to let Jisung know that he thought so.

So of course, in return, Jisung never fails to update him on the status of his resolution.

“Congratulations, you really pushed yourself out there last night, buddy,” he comments sarcastically.

Jisung sits up and sticks his tongue out at Seungmin like a fucking child, which is maybe why Seungmin shouldn’t be stooping down to his level. He can’t help it though, that Jisung brings out the kind of pettiness in him that has him sticking his tongue out right back.

His friend looks like he still wants to say something more, but their instructor chooses that moment to enter the room. The regular din around the room trails off into cooperative silence as everyone turns their attention to the teacher.

“By the way,” Seungmin whispers as Jisung straightens up in his seat. “I mentioned to Hyunjin that we don’t have Calculus today, so now Hyunjin wants to meet up after this class. Apparently he and Felix always get late breakfast around that time.”

Jisung at least seems to brighten up at the mention of their friend. “Felix, too?”

“I assume,” Seungmin mutters, shoulders shrugging.

“Okay, cool—” Jisung is grinning now, and he seems to have a bit more life in him. “Hyunjin owes me a meal, because I bet him that Felix likes that— uh, I forgot his name, but? That sunbae from the Chemical Engineering department? Short guy with a sharp chin—?”

Seungmin bites the inside of his cheek as he attempts not to laugh; their instructor is doing a quick recap of last session’s lecture, but he really wants to make a pointed remark about how Jisung isn’t exactly one to make casual remarks about other people’s shortness. He also doesn’t understand how Jisung can be as casual as he’s being, just betting on Felix’s love life with Hyunjin, like the two of them weren’t nearly, almost, a thing at the start of the term.

“...was insisting that he wasn’t Felix’s type,” Jisung kept on going, and Seungmin can’t help but lend at least some of his attention to his friend even though he knows better. “But I knew,” Jisung insists. “Felix is so obvious when he likes someone, and—”

He only shuts up when the roll call sheet reaches them, and they both have to sign in for attendance; Jisung looks like he wants to keep going after, but Seungmin beats him to eat by shushing him preemptively.

“Your gossip can wait,” Seungmin mumbles, and Jisung simply hums in response. The latter is already cradling his head again, halfway through his journey back to dreamland by the time the instructor introduces his lecture topic for the day.

  
  


 

Most of Seungmin’s first year in university ends up being quite uneventful. After orientation, he had exchanged contact details with Jisung, Hyunjin and Felix, and by the time lectures had begun, they’d been keeping steady communication thanks to a group chat that Jisung had invited all of them to.

Enough time has passed for Seungmin to have strong opinions on his friends: for example, Jisung can be a bit of a handful - which is exactly what Seungmin had expected him to be when the other male had approached him that first day at the OT. It didn’t really take long before Jisung had perfected the Art of Getting Under Seungmin’s Skin, but for some reason Seungmin found himself sticking by his side anyway. At first he told himself that it was because he had no choice - Jisung was there, and he shared almost all of Seungmin’s classes with him. Eventually he just grew on Seungmin, “Like mold,” Seungmin likes to joke, even though, after half a term, he admittedly is aware of Jisung's more positive qualities - such as how he's always the mood maker, no matter what group of people surround him. Or how he's really, actually very smart, something that's both impressive and annoying, since this is how he affords slacking off and procrastinating for most of their classes. Jisung is also incredibly loyal, which Seungmin is appreciative of, not that any of these traits are things that he will praise to his friend's face for fear of fueling his ego too much.

Hyunjin, on the other hand, is the nicest, sweetest boy Seungmin has ever met, and he can't help but have him as his secret favorite. Hyunjin is very good looking, obviously, but Seungmin appreciates that he never lets it go to his head. If anything, it was even a little annoying how much he tries to downplay his looks. (“False modesty,” Jisung called Hyunjin out on it once. “You’re good looking and you know it! Otherwise, why would you post ten thousand selfies a day on your instagram?!” Hyunjin had sputtered in response, and Jisung had smiled smugly and even Seungmin had to admit it was a little funny.) Still, Seungmin likes him because Hyunjin is genuinely sweet and hardworking. He wears his heart on his sleeve, which is something, because he has the biggest heart among the four of them, and Seungmin thinks he can use a little of that in his life.

Felix, lastly— Well, Seungmin thinks Felix is Felix. He’s always with Hyunjin because they have 80% of the same classes, and he’s always with Jisung because they get along terribly well, so in effect Felix is always with Seungmin too. He wishes he could say more about the Australian, but as sweet as Felix seems, as bright his smile is, to Seungmin he still appears to be mostly opaque.

“Hey, Jisung,” Seungmin calls to his friend; he’s overcome with sudden curiosity as the two of them walk down a winding path along the university grounds as they head over to the Humanities building so they can meet up with their two other friends. “Why did it not work out between you and Felix?”

The question isn’t exactly new; it occasionally circles around in Seungmin’s thoughts every now and then, especially whenever the four of them are together. But it’s only now that he remembers to bring it up when it’s only the two of them.

Jisung coughs. “What—?” He gawks at Seungmin before breaking out into laughter. “I kind of assumed that we all collectively agreed to forget anything ever happened,” he continues while wheezing. Seungmin is confused, as usual, by Jisung’s attitude towards the subject and it irritates him. True enough, these days, they all ignore their Felix and Jisung's almost tryst at the orientation - and if someone brings it up, it's always in a joking manner, or its treated as such like Jisung is doing now. Really, even if they're his closest friends, Seungmin doesn't get their humor 80% of the time.

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” He says, interrupting Jisung’s laughter.

“Well, there’s no actual answer anyway,” Jisung tells him, giving Seungmin a weird look like he's the strange one for sincerely wondering about this. “We just realised that we weren’t into each other like that? Felix is a cool guy, it’s more fun being friends with him than anything else. But—” Jisung shrugs, “—we just don't match in that sense. Besides—” Jisung laughs again, “I told you! He’s into that senior with the chin.”

Seungmin would have prodded further, maybe even berate Jisung and remind him not to be rude because people have names, but he’s easily distracted by Hyunjin calling out to them, waving happily with both arms from where he stood at the bottom of the steps of the Engineering building.

“Seungmin-ah! Jisung-ah!” He yells, and then Felix is peeking out from behind him, all smiles when he bounces down the steps to meet them halfway.

“Hey,” Seungmin greets back, his own smile naturally growing wide. He supposes that’s something he can add about Felix, at least. The boy is always so happy and positive, in a way that’s very much contagious.

“Hyunjin’s paying for food!” Jisung announces, one arm immediately swinging around Felix’s small body frame.

“What?” Hyunjin stares at them, confusion evident in his eyes as he stops right next Seungjin. “Why me?!”

“Because you refused to believe when I said that Felix has a big fat crush on that— uuhhh—” Jisung frowns and turns his head to look at Felix, as if to ask for his support on this. “What’s that guy’s name, again?”

“Eh? You mean Changbin-sunbaenim?” Felix asks, unwittingly giving himself away in the process.

Seungmin can only sigh and shake his head, because he could tell that this is exactly what Jisung had expected him to do.

“Well, see—!” Jisung laughs, hand gesturing grandly as Hyunjin groans. “What did I say? You owe me, Hyunjin!”

“Fine,” Hyunjin’s shoulders are sagging in defeat, but the laughter that escapes him shows that he really doesn’t mind.

“I feel like you should know better by now than to bet against Jisung,” Seungmin muses, disapproving even as he squeezes Hyunjin’s shoulder for comfort.

“Sssh—!” Jisung elbows him, all of them walking down the steps of the building together now. “Let Hyunjin do what he wants! If he keeps losing to me, it’s not your responsibility to cut him off this vice!”

Hyunjin’s laughter echoes all around them, followed immediately by Felix. Soon, Jisung joins them, and eventually, despite trying his very best not to partake in his friends’ tomfoolery, even Seungmin cracks down and laughs along.

Why am I friends with idiots? He thinks, even as he’s unable to wipe a smile off his face and he allows himself to be swept along, Jisung’s arm wrapped around him from one side, while Hyunjin links arms with him from the other.

  


 

— ❦ —

  


 

“Seungmin!”

Felix’s familiar baritone echoes around the small convenience store, catching Seungmin by surprise. He turns towards the direction of the voice calling to him, and is met with Felix’s bright smile.

“Seungmin-ah!” His friend repeats, this time waving happily as he approaches.

He’s surprised, to say the least. He hadn’t expected to bump into Felix in the area - it’s early Saturday morning, and Seungmin is on his way home from an all-night study session held at one of his classmates’ house. Jisung had been there too, and normally he would have hitched a ride with Seungmin to the nearest train station, but as it turns out, Jisung’s one room apartment is on the way for one of their other friends so he’d ditched Seungmin and gotten a ride with them instead.

So this is how he’d ended up, making a convenience store run by himself, before heading home.

“Hey, Felix,” he greets, smiling as he places a couple of bottles of energy drink in his basket. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh—” Felix’s eyes widen like he’s surprised that Seungmin is even asking. “I live nearby, actually— I share a place with my older sister barely a ten minute walk away from here. What are you doing this side of the river this early in the morning? Jisung told me you live in— somewhere in the Gangnam district?”

“Ah,” Seungmin slowly nods. A part of him feels bad - he’s been over to Jisung’s small studio apartment countless times that he can probably drive there with his eyes closed, while he’s dropped Hyunjin off at his family’s home a couple of times before so he knows where he lives, but he’s now realising that this is the first time he’s even hearing about which area of Seoul Felix resides in. He thinks that he’s at least aware that Felix is only in the country with his older sister - but even that is because Hyunjin or Jisung mentioned it once before. “We had a group study last night at a classmate's,” he explains, offering a small, sheepish smile. “She lives close by, and I—”

Felix gestures at Seungmin’s basket; his smile is still bright and wide and almost blinding. “And you went for an energy drink run?”

“Yeah—” Seungmin answers with a curt nod; he doesn’t know why he’s being so awkward, until it dawns on him that even after almost being a year of supposedly being friends, this is the first time that he’s been alone with Felix.

“Cool,” Felix comments, reverting back to his native English tongue. He visibly shifts his weight from one foot to another, which is how Seungmin realises that Felix is also somewhat tense. “Hey, have you had breakfast yet?”

Seungmin shakes his head. Everyone in their little study group of five had been in a hurry to go their separate ways, since half of them had Saturday morning classes, and the rest - also known as Han Jisung - had been in a hurry to go home so he can sleep. “I’ve had coffee,” he admits. “Nothing else.”

“Ah, are you—” Felix looks down at Seungmin’s basket, and then back up at him, “—getting anything else?”

Seungmin checks the contents of his basket - half a dozen bottles of Vita500, together with two packs of boiled eggs, and three packs of chocolate pudding - and then he shakes his head again at Felix.

“Come on, then!” Felix says, casually and enthusiastically taking Seungmin’s arm so he can lead him to the counter. His excess energy immediately reminds Seungmin of Jisung, while the easy skinship reminds him of Hyunjin - it’s no wonder that Felix gets along so famously with both of them. It makes Seungmin briefly wonder, though, what his place is in their little group, but Felix is also rambling away, not really leaving Seungmin any time with his personal thoughts. “My sister always cooks breakfast during weekends, and she always cooks too much!”

“Um,” Seungmin slowly unloads items in his basket for the cashier to ring up, but he’s a little confused, still. “What about you? You’re not buying anything?” He asks Felix.

“Huh—?” Felix mirrors his confused expression at first, taking a few seconds for it to click that he was originally there for himself, likely to buy something, and not because he was expecting to run into Seungmin. “Right!” He laughs, low and throaty but also incredibly jolly. “I was supposed to get milk— okay, just pay for your stuff, I’ll be back in a jiff.” And then he’s zooming off through the aisles, leaving Seungmin once again momentarily confused, at least until the cashier announces the total bill and he has to hurriedly take his card out of his wallet.

  
  


 

“It’s starting to get really cold,” Felix comments as they step out of the store together. He’s rubbing his hands together and blowing into them as he starts to walk down the sidewalk.

“December does that,” Seungmin answers unthinkingly. “And, uh— my car is this way,” he adds, gesturing towards the opposite direction. “We can just drive, right?”

“Oh—” Felix stops in his tracks, and laughs as he does an about turn. “Right. Your car. And—” he grins, and easily falls into step next to Seungmin, “—not in Australia. Back home December gives us the sun.”

“Oh—” Seungmin mirrors his tone. “Right,” he laughs softly, embarrassed. Of course he knows that seasons are switched around down under, he just wasn’t thinking straight. “You miss it?”

Felix shrugs. “It’s not as bad as it was when I first moved here,” he says. “But it’s a given to be a bit homesick every now and then, isn’t it?”

Seungmin supposes he’s right, and now he’s embarrassed at his own stupid question. Truthfully, even though he’s starting to realise right in that moment that he doesn’t know a lot about Felix - at least not as much as he knows about Hyunjin and Jisung. Furthermore, he definitely does not as much as those two know about Felix. Nevertheless, some things that he’s always admired about the other boy are his courage and tenacity. He’s pretty sure that Felix has a lot of both, considering it’s his personal choice to move to Korea and study here, his older sister the only family he has around.

“Are you planning on going home over winter break?”

Felix hums; they’d just reached Seungmin’s car and he’s waiting as Seungmin unlocks the doors, depositing his convenience store loot in the back before moving to slide into the driver’s seat and motioning for Felix to follow into the passenger side.

“I’m not sure— If I do, it won’t be for long. I might need to register for some extra courses during the winter term,” Felix tells him, wincing as he has a little difficulty tugging the seatbelt across his chest. “Some, um, language courses,” he adds, mumbling, sounding embarrassed, and Seungmin isn’t sure if it’s because of the fact that he needs to take extra classes during break, or if it’s because of how much trouble he’s having with putting on a simple car seatbelt.

“Um here, let me—” Seungmin mumbles, leaning over and easily pulling on it. “You have to jiggle it a bit,” he explains; his car used to belong to his older sister, and it developed more than a few quirks during it’s two year tenure with her.

“Ah, thanks!” Felix smiles shyly. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

For some reason, Felix’s simple assumption about a ‘next time,’ endears him to Seungmin; It’s perfectly understandable, of course, he tells himself, that Felix would assume a next time. They’re friends after all, best friends with the same people, so it makes perfect sense that this won’t be the last time that Felix is in his car.

“Okay, good, thanks,” Seungmin tells him, smiling as he turns the ignition on. “Jisung is always pulling at it too hard— like that’s going to help any,” he adds, eyes rolling despite the hint of fondness evident in his tone. “Newsflash: it never does! You just have to do the little jiggle first.”

Felix instructs him on which turns to take, and sure enough, barely even five minutes pass before he’s pulling over to park across a modest apartment building. He’s led up to the third floor of the building, where Felix lets him in while calling out to his older sister.

“Noona! I brought a guest along with me!”

Seungmin curiously glances around; it’s quite modest in size, but it also looks quite comfortable and fully lived in.

“I don’t exactly have a room,” Felix whispers to him. “But—” he gestures above their heads as Seungmin gets to work on carefully removing his shoes, “—the loft area is all mine.”

Seungmin nods, and is about to make a comment when a woman pokes her head out of the doorway which he assumes leads to the kitchen. “Guest—? Is it Hyunjin again— oh! Hi! You’re new—”

Felix’s older sister looks just like him - big eyes, a small face and curiously shaped lips. She looks surprised, but happy to see Seungmin, who politely bows in greeting.

“Seungmin, this is my sister, Rachel,” Felix introduces them. “Noona, this is Seungmin. Ran into him at the GS25 one block over, so I invited him— is the food ready?”

His sister nods, and motions for the two of them to come over. “Everyone here just calls me Yongsoon, though, so you can call me Yongsoon-noona if you want,” she informs Seungmin with a warm smile. “That's my Korean name— Our Yongbokie here hates his Korean name,” she adds teasingly; he could tell she likes doing this in front of Felix’s friends, and it makes Seungmin laugh. To be fair he already knows about Felix being Yongbok - Jisung just loves pulling out the Yongbok card at the most inopportune times, and Seungmin is just now realising that Jisung likely knows about the name because of Felix's sister as well.

“Noona!” Felix groans, ears adorably red at the tips.

Rachel smirks sassily, before turning to Felix and asking, “You didn’t forget why I sent you over there though, did you?”

Seungmin can’t help but laugh some more at that one, because he knows that’s almost exactly what happened. Felix laughs along, and he proudly holds up the plastic bag he’s carrying. “Almost did, but I didn’t! Seungmin reminded me at the last second,” he adds, grinning.

“You’re more than welcome to breakfast then,” his sister says, winking playfully at Seungmin who actually feels a wave of shyness pass over him. The rapport between the siblings fascinates him - it’s so natural and easy. He has an older sister of his own, and he’s always thought that the two of them get along quite well, but he’s never actually considered them to be close, at least not like Felix and his sister clearly are.

“Thank you,” he says, taking the seat that Felix pulls out for him before he puts the milk away. He takes in the breakfast spread on the table - Felix really wasn’t joking when he said that his sister makes enough for more than two people. There’s toast, bacon, sausages, eggs (poached, not scrambled, which admittedly excites Seungmin more than it probably should) - and a few more things on the table that Seungmin can’t quite identify at the top of his head.

“Help yourself to anything you want,” Rachel gestures at the food before she takes her seat. She’s looking at Seungmin curiously, like she’s waiting to see what Seungmin will reach for first. Felix, on the other hand, just plops himself down beside Seungmin, and starts piling his plate with food.

“Do you always eat this much in the morning?” Seungmin asks. His family used to have daily breakfast together, with rice and some side dishes, but they haven’t done it as much after he graduated high school. Most of them are always hurrying in the morning, and these days, Seungmin usually just grabs coffee on the way to class.

“No way,”  Rachel laughs, head shaking animatedly. “It’s too much work to do this every day, but yeah, weekends I make a point of it. It’s how we do it back home, too.”

“Aww, man!” Felix groans. “Don’t remind me—” He laughs, and turns to Seungmin with an excited expression. “Sometimes, Mum makes steak and potatoes for breakfast, I miss that. Rachel says that’s too wasteful to do here.”

“Steak…?!” Seungmin blinks and stares. “You have steak for breakfast?!”

Rachel laughs, and Felix simply grins. “Mum makes it really good, too. Noona and I usually do the potatoes—”

“Yeah,” Rachel interjects. “We all wake up at an insanely early hour— you saying you actually miss that just for breakfast?”

“Well, no, but—” Felix laughs. “I miss steak.”

“I’ve only ever had steak once,” Seungmin interjects. “At a restaurant.”

“Oh! Well, when our folks visit maybe you can come over for steak breakfast,” Felix suggests, which for some reason cracks his sister up, which leads Seungmin to laugh as well. “What—” Felix huffs. “It’s just an idea!”

“Well, to be fair, I’m sure they’d love to meet your friends— Hyunjin and Jisung, too,” Rachel offers.

“Noona’s obsessed with Hyunjin,” Felix leans in as if he’s telling Seungmin a secret, but he says the words loud enough for everyone in the room to hear anyway.

“He’s a nice boy, and I’m glad you have a nice boy for a friend,” Rachel points out. “Is that so bad?”

“This is true,” Seungmin finds himself compelled to join in the conversation. “Hyunjin’s really nice, and I think noonim is justified to have him as her favorite friends of yours if all she has to compare him with is Jisung.”

“Hey! You do Jisung dirty, mate,” Felix teases, laughing. “But you’re the one who spends most time with him!”

Seungmin makes a face. “Not exactly by choice,” he retorts, but soon he’s laughing good-naturedly.

More laughter is had throughout breakfast; Felix and his sister regale Seungmin with stories about their lives back in Australia; Rachel also inquires about Felix’s week so far, and it dawns on Seungmin that weekend breakfast is probably the siblings’ way of making sure they’re caught up in each other’s lives. It’s sweet, Seungmin thinks. Occasionally they end up switching to English, but Felix always catches himself every so often, turning to Seungmin so he can attempt to translate what they’re saying to English. Not that Seungmin needs it - his English comprehension is at a high level, after all, but he appreciates Felix’s attempt to make sure he’s always included.

“Hey, you ever had vegemite before?” Felix suddenly asks halfway through the meal.

“What’s that—?” Seungmin is in the middle of cutting up his bacon into smaller, bite-sized pieces, when he pauses to look up.

“Oh, you should! Here—” Felix takes the liberty to transfer a piece of toast from his plate to Seungmin’s; it has something brown and sticky looking spread over it, which sort of reminds Seungmin of black bean sauce. “Our parents just sent over a care package, so we’ve got more than enough to go around!”

Seungmin is tentative as he picks the toast up, and from the corner of his eye he sees that Rachel looks amused, while Felix just seems eager to see his reaction. He slowly bites into one end of the bread, only to be surprised at the taste that spreads on his tongue.

“Um—” He chews very, very slowly, unsure how to voice out what he thinks of the taste. “It’s, uh—”

“Good, right?” Felix tries to confirm, while his sister looks like she’s doing her best not to crack up.

It tastes salty, with a sort of bitter aftertaste, Seungmin thinks. Not exactly his favorite flavor, but Felix looks so pleased that Seungmin doesn’t have the heart to say that he doesn’t like it. So instead, he tries to take another bite, but this time around it’s like it tastes even worse.

“Yeah, hey, don’t worry about it,” Rachel says as she fills Seungmin’s glass with water. “Vegemite isn’t for everyone.”

“Awww, you don’t like it?” Felix looks bummed and Seungmin kind of feels bad for it. “But yeah, I guess, it’s not for everyone. But hey! At least you can say you’ve tried it!”

Seungmin ends up staying until almost noon; he makes an offer to help wash the dishes, which Felix graciously accepts.

“Thanks for breakfast,” he tells Felix as they work together - Felix is in charge of soaping up and rinsing the dishes while Seungmin wipes them dry with a dish cloth. He’s once again thinking about how this is the first time the two of them have spent time together without Hyunjin or Jisung, and it’s definitely been nice.

“No problem! We always end up with a lot of leftovers, so it’s better this way,” Felix assures him. “And—” He pauses and takes a deep breath, and Seungmin realises he’s nervous, which is kind of cute even though Seungmin has no idea what he can be nervous about. “And,” Felix continues again, “It’s been nice hanging out with you. I mean— we’ve been friends for almost a year, but it feels like we don’t really know much about each other. So when I saw you this morning, I kind of just— yeah.” He wipes his hands on his apron, and turns to flash a shy grin at Seungmin, who, for his part, is actually surprised at Felix’s words. He hadn’t realised that they’d been thinking of the same thing.

“Yeah, it’s been really good,” Seungmin agrees wholeheartedly, nodding and returning Felix’s smile with his own as he places the last dish on the rack. He’s never really thought much about Felix - he knows that his friend is a nice guy, a fun guy to have around, even, but it’s never really occurred to him how interesting he can be, at least not until today. And now, he finds that he’s curious to learn more. “By the way,” he adds, suddenly in the mood to share thanks to the comfortable atmosphere, “I might take some classes during the winter term, too.”

“Oh?” Felix looks surprised. “You need to, or—?”

Seungmin ducks his head and wipes his hands on the dish cloth he’s holding in them. “No, uh, I just kind of want to get some advanced units?” He winces because the one time he’d mentioned this idea to Jisung, his friend had just gawked and looked at him like he’d grown horns or something similarly out of the ordinary.

“Wow, that’s cool! I wish I had to stick around the winter term for similar reasons, and not because I’m an idiot,” Felix comments, laughing like he’s joking around, but Seungmin detects a hint of something there.

“Maybe I’m an idiot for wanting to go,” Seungmin shoots back, chuckling in an attempt to joke as well. “But hey, we’ll at least see each other around campus.”

“Oh! Yeah—” Felix grins, hip playfully knocking against Seungmin’s. “That’s at least something to look forward to.”

  
  


 

 **lix_the_cat** (02:32 PM):  
hey! it was gr8 having u this morning!  
sis wants 2 make sure u got home safe

 **ddaengmin** (02:33 PM):  
i had fun too  
and yea im alive  
pls thank her again 4 bfast

 **lix_the_cat** (02:34 PM):  
hehe maybe next time u’ll like vegemite better

 **ddaengmin** (02:34 PM):  
um..

 **lix_the_cat** (02:35 PM):  
jk haha  
but swear to everything holy!  
next time i’ll let u have it on avo toast  
10x better!!!

 **ddaengmin** (02:37 PM):  
um..!!

 **lix_the_cat** (02:39 PM):  
ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ  
that aside tho  
btw  
after finals u wanna coordinate?  
so our winter sem schedules match

 **ddaengmin** (02:41 PM):  
that sounds gr8 actually

 **lix_the_cat** (02:41 PM):  
cool!

 

 

 

 

_tbc._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ ☆ ] While writing this, I went and read up on OTs and MTs and generally University Life/Culture in South Korea. I mean, it was mostly just some Googling and Redditing, so there might be a lot of inaccuracies, but anyway— the whole orientation thing was complicated/weird to me, because I don’t get why orientation would be outside of the university you’re being oriented about lmao, so I kind of just addressed that here. BUT EITHER WAY, if you want to read basics about OTs and MTs, it’s all on Wikipedia, for starters.
> 
> [ ☆ ] Oh, the chapter titles are going to be lines from ONE OK ROCK's Wasted Nights, just in case anyone finds them familiar.


	2. ii: fill this room with memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> year two of seungmin's life in university.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ ☆ ] This chapter ended up much longer than the first one, and blatantly introduces side ships, so, I hope you enjoy this part! 
> 
> [ ☆ ] Also, I wanted to say, this isn’t 1st POV fic, but it’s still Limited 3rd, which means the story is still unfolding through Seungmin’s POV, and in a lot of ways, he’s a very unreliable narrator, especially since this is largely a story about his personal growth. I hope that shows…? But yeah, making a note of it, here: don’t accept his thoughts at face value, and always try to read between the lines.

❦

 

 

 _I don’t care where we go, it doesn’t matter if it’s not far_  
_I just like this moment of leaving_  
_I don’t care if it’s not for long, there’s no need to rush_ _  
Tonight, we’ll be together under that sky_

“Freely,” DAY6

  
  
  


 

“Why are you still doing this when you’re not a freshman anymore?” Seungmin can only sigh as he comes across Jisung on his way to class. His friend’s head is hung low, while his fingers are gently massaging his temple.

It’s the first day of the first term of a new school year, and once again, Seungmin is stuck with Jisung. Something just as unsurprising is his friend’s clearly hungover state.

Jisung winces as he leans against Seungmin’s side for support while they walk together down the halls of the Engineering building. “Why do you only ever nag _me_ about this,” Jisung mumbles, the usual boisterous bluster absent for  once.

Seungmin sighs, feeling a faint pang of guilt pass through him. “Hyunjin and Felix don’t get hammered nearly as much,” he remarks softly. “And I don’t really care about everybody else.”

“Oh?” Jisung straightens up, and Seungmin doesn’t need to look at him squarely to be able to notice the grin that quickly spreads across his lips. “So what I’m hearing here is— the Great Kim Seungmin actually Cares about me—?”

He rolls his eyes, refusing to allow Jisung the pleasure of turning his words into a Big Deal Moment. “You’re my friend,” he deadpans, doing his best to keep his tone as even and nonchalant as possible. “That’s a given.”

Jisung laughs, clearly pleased; he places an arm around Seungmin who flinches initially at the sudden contact. “I feel like this is the first time you’ve ever actually called me your friend out loud,” he teases happily, much to Seungmin’s chagrin. “And so because of that, I feel the need to update you! I got up to—” He proudly holds up three fingers for Seungmin to see, “—three bottles of soju last night.”

Seungmin snorts and shakes his head, shaking Jisung off and separating from him as they finally enter their designated classroom. “And look at the state you’re in right now,” he points out as they take seats that are next to each other. “You look like death.”

“Just like half of the class,” Jisung leans close and whispers conspiratorially. “Ugh, it’s not my fault this class is only being offered at an unholy hour.”

“Ten in the morning isn’t exactly ‘unholy,’” Seungmin argues.

“It is for an Engineering Mathematics class,” Jisung mumbles, his attention briefly stolen by something he’s rifling through his bag for; it turns out to be a bottle of hangover medicine which has Seungmin snorting. “Who is even in their right mind for numbers and formulae at this hour?!” He continues to whine, cringing as he unscrews the cap of his drink.

“At least you remembered to get yourself some Morning Care,” Seungmin comments. “For once. Although maybe next time, try to remember to take hangover cures _before_ drinking— they’re more effective that way.”

“And you would know this because you’re a drinking expert, yes?” Jisung jokes, chuckling before he takes a large swig of the drink, and grimacing as the liquid travels down his throat. “Also, this— I actually got this from Minho-hyung,” he adds, referring to the drink he’s holding. “I ran into him while I was on my way here, and he said I looked sick, and he had an extra so— isn’t he quite generous?”

“Minho-sunbaenim?” Seungmin clarifies, much more careful, polite and formal in the way he refers to their mutual senior.

Frown lines form on Jisung’s brow. “Why do you say his name like that?” He asks.

“Like what?”

“Like— you’re being disapproving,” Jisung articulates. “Are you still not over the fact that he almost messed with us as freshmen? Every other senior pulls that TBA prank on freshmen, Seungminnie, and it was an entire year ago, give it up!”

Seungmin huffs; he hadn’t even been thinking about that little anecdote from their freshman OT, but now that he’s been reminded of it, he can’t help but still be a little salty at the memory.

“He could’ve set us back a good hour,” he mumbles; he knows he’s exaggerating but it irks him that Jisung is always acting like he’s overly concerned about small details. “Anyway,” he continues, “that wasn’t my point! I was just noting that you and Minho-sunbaenim have been getting closer, is all.”

Jisung takes another sip of his hangover drink before once again shaking his head at Seungmin. “We go to a lot of the same parties,” he explains. “You would be closer to him by now, too, if you knew how to have any kind of fun.”

“I resent that comment,” Seungmin near-snaps. “I know how to have fun, I’m just not careless about it.” To be fair, Jisung immediately looks apologetic, so Seungmin holds back and lowers his guard again. “Like I said,” he reiterates, “You just seem to have gotten closer to him. It’s an observation, Jisung. Nothing else.”

Jisung sighs and goes back to massaging his temple. “Well, you and Felix have also gotten pretty close over the break, and I’m not making a big deal out of that.”

The comeback surprises Seungmin, but Jisung doesn’t seem to notice. It’s not as if Jisung is wrong - he and Felix have gotten considerably closer during the winter term, but that’s mostly because with Jisung off partying with other friends (such as Minho, Seungmin assumes), and with Hyunjin off on vacation with his family, he and Felix were left to hang out with only each other in between, and after their winter lectures.

“Well that’s because it’s not a big deal at all,” Seungmin says, feeling strangely defensive. “Besides, we’ve always been friends— all four of us.”

“Exactly,” Jisung agrees. “It’s not a big deal at all, so I don’t see why you even had to comment on it.”

Frankly, Seungmin thinks Jisung is being a bit over-defensive himself, and he wants to point this out, and maybe even bring up how Jisung is the one who used to be unable to shut up about how _Minho-sunbaenim is so beautiful it’s not real_ , but before he can open his mouth and say any of these words, their professor is walking inside the room and everyone is turning their attention on him, Jisung included.

  
  
  


 

Truthfully, Seungmin had been on the fence about enrolling during the winter term. He wanted to, because he thought it would be nice to be on top of his basic general education units early on, so that by the time he’s in his later years at university, then he could just focus on his core majors, but Jisung’s initial reaction of disbelief had admittedly turned him off of the idea.

And then Felix had admitted that he was going to need to take supplementary language electives, and just like that, Seungmin had gone from considering enrolling, to definitely enrolling. It wasn’t even as if he and Felix were going to take the same course, and it was silly, really (which is why he’s never going to admit this to anyone), but there was something comforting about the idea of having at least one sure friend on campus grounds at the same time as him.

They’d ended up with similarly scheduled afternoon lectures, which led to them meeting up with each other afterwards, more often than not. Except, despite their seeming breakthrough around the end of the second term, they’d quickly reverted back to semi-awkward interactions, at least during the first week of winter term. They did fall into a routine where they would meet at the steps of the Humanities building where both of them happened to be taking their electives, and then they’d quietly head to the cafe at the Student Union building where they’d spend the next couple of hours peacefully studying and doing homework, but not necessarily talking to each other all that much. Every day, Seungmin felt a growing distance between the two of them, which he didn’t know what to do about, especially as Felix seemed to be quite unbothered.

At least until the second week of the winter term begun, and Felix had simply led with,

“Sometimes I feel like you dislike me.”

It was late in the afternoon, and they were at the Student Union as per usual, and Seungmin had been in the middle of highlighting important passages in his textbook when Felix had uttered the words. Winter term was progressing too fast for him, with daily classes and chapters of material being covered all at once, so he’s been more stressed than usual in his attempt to be completely on top of everything. He’d just been able to manage to ignore the awkward silence between the two of them, so the statement catches him completely off-guard.

“What.” He’d glanced up from his text book, and unable to control his expression he ended up looking part-surprised and part annoyed, which caused Felix to shrink back a little. “I mean— I'm confused, what do you mean?” Seungmin followed up, consciously softening both his tone and expression.

He thought he had an idea where this was coming from - after all, it has already been established that the strange air between the two of them had been on his mind. But he was certainly surprised at Felix's interpretation of it as dislike on his part; also, it was unexpected for him that Felix had apparently also been thinking about this.

“It’s just— you’re always watching what you say with me? You’re never like that with Jisung, or Hyunjin,” Felix went on, after Seungmin just continued to stare at him. “I thought we were getting along better too, after the end of last year, but…”

He trailed off finally, ducking his head as if shy and embarrassed from everything he’d just said. Seungmin pursed his lips, quietly giving it all some thought. He did think that they were getting along better, that they were slowly getting to know each other better, especially after the second term had ended and they were regularly messaging each other to coordinate their schedules. But then Felix and his sister had flown back to Australia for a week over Christmas, and despite all the technology at their disposal, this had effectively cut off their communication for a while, and by the time the term had started, it was like they’d jumped back to square one.

“Jisung said I should just ask,” Felix added after a few seconds of silence.

“You talked to Jisung about me?” Seungmin, once again, had been caught off-guard. He would never have thought to bring his thoughts and feelings about a friend to another friend.

“Hyunjin too,” Felix admitted, and Seungmin’s eyes had widened in further surprise. The other boy made it sound so simple and natural, and Seungmin had realised that in a lot of ways, it actually was. It wasn't gossip, if you shared your friendship woes with a mutual friend.

“Oh.”

It was in that moment that Seungmin realised that he’s never really done that; he talked a lot with Hyunjin, and he talked even more with Jisung, but most of the time it was him listening to what they had to say. In a way, he’d mostly kept his own thoughts to himself - which was a funny realisation, considering how quick he always was in voicing his opinion when it came to Hyunjin’s concerns and Jisung’s antics. This was always the type of friend Seungmin was, even in high school - he was the type who was ready to lend an ear and a shoulder to cry on, the type who consistently doled out advice and pulled friends back down to Earth if and when necessary. To him this had always been enough, and he’d never thought of himself as someone who was particularly closed off, at least until now.

It was curious because he was pretty sure it hadn’t been Felix’s intention to let him realise this, but it ended up being his conclusion anyway.

“Sorry,” he’d murmured, genuinely apologetic. Felix was right, he thought, because Seungmin was more reserved with him, because he was used to people opening up to him first, instead of the other way around. At the start of their friendship, it was Hyunjin who was always messaging Seungmin, asking for his opinion on every other thing; Jisung, meanwhile, was the type to simply speak his mind, consequences be damned. Seungmin knew how to deal with the likes of them. Felix, it seemed, was the type to slowly open up, and the problem with their friendship was that they didn’t really spend enough time with each other for this to happen naturally. Seungmin has never really needed to make the extra effort to get to know anyone before, but he was realising that he just might have to, for and with Felix.

This is new, he had thought, but the shy, yet eager and expectant smile drawn on Felix’s features had told him that a little bit of work in this friendship would be worth it. Besides, he should probably work on loosening up and being more open. (Jisung would probably have rejoiced if he’d been able to hear these particular thoughts, so Seungmin figured he’d never tell him. Ever.)

“Of course I don’t dislike you,” he told Felix, his smile tentative but more friendly. “I think— we just don’t know a lot about each other?” Felix’s expression had fallen a bit at that, causing Seungmin to quickly clarify himself. “We have time, though? Right now— we have a few more weeks left without our idiot friends, so this time is ours.”

The way Felix’s entire face had lit up at that - it almost made Seungmin giggle. Felix was so simple, but it was also right then that he’d decided that yes, working on this friendship was going to definitely be worth it.

  
  
  


 

 **SWAGBR00z** [ 4 _members,_ 4 _online_ ]

 **hwhj2000** (04:05 PM):  
@ seungmin jisung ur class is over right?  
me and lix are getting coffee at the student union  
u guys want anything?

 **meotj1** (04:07 PM):  
is hyunjin paying???

 **ddaengmin** (04:07 PM):  
jisung shut up

 **meotj1** (04:08 PM):  
he rly said that out loud while typing it  
but hey i’ll have an iced americano  
class is over but seungmin’s having a lil chat w the professor  
KISSASS 💋  

 **ddaengmin** (04:08 PM):  
HAN JISUNG

 **meotj1** (04:11 PM):  
HELP HE JUST TRIED TO MURDER ME  
WITH HIS GLARE

 **hwhj2000** (04:12 PM):  
guys just get here already 😅

 **ddaengmin** (04:13 PM):  
w’r walking now  
and can u get me a caramel macchiato?  
pls n thx

 **hwhj2000** (04:15 PM):  
o yea apparently lix alr got it for u

 **lix_the_cat** (04:15 PM):  
iced caramel macchiato w an upside down shot of espresso right?  
i also got u the last 2 egg puffs!

 **meotj1** (04:16 PM):  
wat abt me  
wat did u get me???

 **lix_the_cat** (04:16 PM):  
the americano u asked for??

 **hwhj2000** (04:18 PM):  
we got a table far back btw  
someone beat us to our usual

  


 

“Hey, no fair, why’d Felix get you food to go with your drink?!” Jisung asks, pouting at his phone even as he trails after Seungmin.

“Jisung,” Seungmin hisses. “Stop texting while walking.” He isn’t sure what Jisung is going on about because he had pocketed his phone as soon as the two of them had begun their trek from the Engineering Hall to the Student Union.

Jisung rolls his eyes, but he does make a show of shoving his phone into his front pocket. “There, Dad, you happy?!” He scoffs, elbow nudging Seungmin’s side as he easily falls into step with him now that he isn’t distracted by his gadget. “But it’s still not fair that Felix got you food, too.”

“What are you even harping on about?” Seungmin throws him an incredulous glance. He has no idea what Jisung is talking about because he’d done the responsible thing and put his phone away right after he’d informed the group chat with Hyunjin and Felix that they were on their way.

“Felix got you the last egg puffs at the union cafe,” Jisung explains with a small pout; he looks adorable, but as usual this isn’t a thought that Seungmin would willingly share with him, so instead he laughs out loud.

“That’s sweet of him—? I don’t understand the problem here?”

“He didn’t get me anything—?” Jisung explains, but he sounds a little unsure of his own argument now. Good, Seungmin thinks, because at least his friend knows that he’s being ridiculous.

“Did you ask him to get you anything?”

“Well, no, but you also only asked for your drink,” Jisung points out. “And he got you egg puffs. What about me— I’m hungry, too!”

“Jisung—” Seungmin snorts. “He just knows I really like those egg puffs. You always go and order something new when we’re there.”

“Well, okay, fair, but—” Jisung stops abruptly, and Seungmin laughs because he knows that Jisung is well aware that his argument has come across a dead end. “Alright!” He just throws his hands in the air. “We’re here anyway,” he announces, as he uses both hands to push the union cafe’s glass doors open. And then he’s bouncing and skipping over to the back where he had immediately spotted their friends, and Seungmin is left to follow, while laughing at Jisung’s simplistic, childish ways of ending petty squabbles. (Also, he obviously won, so he supposes he can let Jisung off the hook this once.)

His eyes meet Felix’s when he takes the seat across his friend’s, and then the first thing he notices right after is how the dusting of freckles across his nose and cheeks are more visible now than they have ever been. They make Seungmin smile widely, while Felix shyly averts his gaze.

It was around the end of the winter term when Seungmin had showed up at Felix’s shared apartment with his sister one Saturday morning. His friend had invited him for breakfast, had insisted because he said his sister wanted him to. But when Seungmin had turned up, he’d obviously just woken up, and it was the first time in their year-long friendship that Seungmin had noticed the freckles that adorned his face.

“Oh, crap!” Felix had been panicking as he let Seungmin in. “We overslept, I’m so, so sorry! Noona and I stayed up late watching movies and—”

“I didn’t know you had… these,” Seungmin interrupted him, mesmerized as he gestured at his own facial area.

And then Felix had blushed a very deep shade of red, and Seungmin almost missed it because he’d proceeded to cover his face with his hands. “Don’t look,” he groaned, and Seungmin couldn’t understand what he meant.

“Wait, why—?”

Defeated, because Seungmin was already there anyway, Felix dropped his hands to his side, and moved so he can let his friend inside. “I hate them,” Felix grumbled, and Seungmin could only assume that he meant his freckles.

“Why?” Seungmin was confused, and he’d kept his eyes on his friend even while he carefully took his shoes off. “Is that why this is the first time I’ve ever noticed them?” He did feel a bit relieved because for a moment he felt bad, thinking this was yet another thing about Felix he had completely missed despite having known each other for as long as they had.

“Yeah,” Felix admitted softly. “It wasn’t a problem back home— everyone played enough in the sun as kids, so freckles were pretty common among my peer group, but here—” He’d winced, before continuing, “Here it’s like everyone is obsessed with having blemish free skin so— I asked my sister early on to teach me how to cover it up with makeup, but I had no time to do it today.”

“Oh Felix—” Seungmin had smiled, and overcome with a strange feeling, he had uncharacteristically placed an arm around the other, and proceeded to give his shoulder a squeeze. “I get pimples all the time,” he offered, laughing. “I’ll take cute freckles any day.”

And then Felix had laughed, and Seungmin beamed at him, and his sister had appeared by the doorway before Seungmin could admit that he actually found them beautiful more than simply cute.

 _You look great_ , he now mouths at Felix, who smiles gratefully at him. It makes him happy that the other boy is more confident about his face now, and he can only hope that he’d contributed to help build that up.

“So, what are everyone’s thoughts?” Jisung’s loud voice interrupts their quiet exchange, and both of them turn to Jisung. Seungmin has no idea what he’d been droning on about just seconds earlier, but knowing Jisung, he’s sure he’ll find out soon enough.

“Thoughts on—?” Seungmin carefully halves the egg puffs that Felix serves him, and hands a piece each to his friends.

“Hyunjin's birthday!” Jisung exclaims with a hint of exasperation, right before he shoves his entire pastry puff into his mouth.

“Jisung—” Hyunjin looks like he’s trying to keep himself from laughing at Jisung; it isn’t working, and he’s half sputtering, half giggling. It’s silly, really, Seungmin thinks Hyunjin should be used to Jisung’s shamelessness by now. “Jisung, don’t talk while your mouth is full,” Hyunjin wheezes, sounding less scolding than he means to be. “But—” He takes a deep breath, and turns to look at Seungmin and Felix. “What do you guys want to do on my birthday?”

Right, his birthday is only a couple of weeks away - there’s a reminder already set on Seungmin’s calendar, one for a week earlier to make sure that he doesn’t forget to buy his friend a gift.

“It’s your birthday, Hyunjin,” Seungmin returns after taking a sip of his drink - which has been prepared exactly how he likes it, and he smiles at Felix for silent acknowledgement of this. “Isn’t it your choice what to do?”

Hyunjin shrugs. “I know I’m spending it with you guys,” he says, smiling. “So I’m fine with whatever maximizes fun for all of you.”

Seungmin cringes; he’s about to tell Hyunjin that it’s _his_ fun that should be maximized on his birthday, but as usual, Jisung beats him to speaking.

“I know what we can do,” he declares, grinning widely as he practically vibrates with excitement. “Minho-hyung was telling me about this new dance club that just opened in the Hongdae area— we should check that out!”

“Jisung, it’s Hyunjin’s birthday, not another excuse to party with Minho sunbaenim,” Seungmin interjects.

“Huh?” Jisung gives him a quizzical look. “What are you talking about? Do you have other suggestions that are as good? I mean— it’s a dance club, and Hyunjin loves to dance, don’t you, Hyunjinnie?” He turns to Hyunjin who shrugs, offers Seungmin an unnecessary apologetic look before nodding as an answer to Jisung’s query. “There you go!” Jisung gestures dramatically. “And it’s newly opened, so they might have opening discounts— and Minho-hyung recommended the place, so it’s bound to be hip!”

Seungmin would make a scathing comment about how Jisung trusts Minho’s judgment far too much, but, to be fair, what little he does know about their senior hints at nothing but good taste. (And a penchant for trolling freshmen, but Seungmin at least knows that has nothing to do with the current topic at hand.)

“...Felix is up for this too, right Felix?” Jisung turns towards the Australian with a presumptuous look. “You like dancing too, no?”

“Sounds fun!” Felix agrees, and Seungmin knows he’s lost this time, which would be really annoying but, like he’d been so keen on reminding Jisung just a minute earlier, this is about Hyunjin’s birthday so he sighs and nods as well.

“Fine,” he acquiesces. “If it’s what everyone wants to do— I can be the designated driver,” he even volunteers.

Jisung lets out a big, excited whoop, as expected, but Hyunjin throws him a worried glance instead. “Seungminnie,” Hyunjin croaks, “You don’t have to— we can all just get a cab together. You deserve to have fun, too.”

“Yeah, Seungminnie!” Jisung echoes. “Learn to have some fun, too!”

Despite himself, Seungmin actually laughs. He appreciates that his friends don’t want him to feel left out, but, “No, it’s better for all of us if someone’s still thinking clearly.”

“It doesn’t have to be you,” Hyunjin tries to argue.

“Then who else?” Seungmin shoots back, only to get three blank stares directed at him. “Exactly,” he says, laughing. “And I’m fine, I’ll have a drink— two, at most. Don’t worry, I’ll have fun, too!”

“Well, just in case,” Jisung grins at him. “You’re free to crash at my place after.” The offer comes so freely and genuinely (an invitation that makes sense for him to throw out considering his apartment is closer to the Hongdae area), and Seungmin is reminded why he actually likes Jisung as a friend.

“Guys,” Felix interrupts, his voice low, but rumbling with excitement. “How about let’s all just sleep over at Jisung’s after?”

“Wait— hey! Wait!” Jisung is suddenly gesturing with his hands, looking panicked. “I live in a small studio apartment!”

Seungmin laughs. “We’ll fit. You’re tiny, anyway,” he teases.

“Hey! I resent that!”

“But it’s true—” Even Hyunjin is chiming in, which makes Seungmin laughs harder.

Jisung groans, but he does throw his hands up in defeat. “Fine! Everyone is welcome to crash after, but no one is allowed to complain about the mess!”

“Well, maybe if you actually cleaned up after yourself every once in—,” Seungmin chimes in, only to be shushed immediately by his friend.

“No complaints!” Jisung reiterates, arms folded across his chest as if he thinks that gives him a more authoritative air. It doesn’t, and everyone around the table just cracks up further.

“Well, then, at least it’s a plan, then?” Hyunjin finalizes, giving each of them a look before he nods in confirmation. “Happy birthday to me!”

  
  


 

— ❦ —

  
  


 

The weeks leading up to Hyunjin’s birthday celebration pass by quickly. Seungmin gets him a coffee table book featuring world-famous tourist destinations because the most vivid conversation he recalls having with Hyunjin was one where his friend had revealed to him that he really wants to travel around the world after graduation.

He’d handed the gift to Hyunjin right after he picks him up, and in exchange, he receives a bright smile, and an enthusiastic hug for it. “Thanks, Seungminnie,” Hyunjin tells him, giving him a warm squeeze before pulling away so Seungmin can resume driving, and they can proceed to pick up their two other friends.

They pick up Felix first, who immediately greets Hyunjin as he climbs into the back seat. “Happy birthday, mate!” He says in an English drawl, one hand supportively clapping on Hyunjin’s shoulder. “Jisung and I pitched in for a gift, and he has it— bet you’ll love it, though!”

“You didn’t really have to get me anything,” Hyunjin tells him. “But thank you.”

“Of course we had too!” Felix asserts; he pauses, and then he laughs before adding, “Besides, Jisung said we had to so that in return you’d have to get us something for our birthdays in the fall.”

“Well by that logic, then you and Jisung would need to share whatever gift Hyunjin decides to get the two of you,” Seungmin points out, scoffing as he peers at Felix through the rearview mirror.

Felix laughs even more. “Yeah…” he nods in between chuckling. “I pointed this out to him, too, but he told me I shouldn’t worry too much about it.”

“Of course he would,” Seungmin comments, earning him a playful hit on the arm courtesy of the birthday boy.

The moment Jisung slides into the backseat of the car next to Felix, he exchanges a Look with Hyunjin. “So! Birthday Boy! Did you open our gift yet?” He asks, face lit up with excitement, even though what he gets in return is three pairs of eyes looking at him with confusion. “Huh? Oh, has Felix not given it to you yet?” He turns to his backseat companion, whose expression just morphs into a more perplexed one.

“Weren't you supposed to pick it up?” Felix asks, blinking rapidly, and nervously tapping his wrist - Seungmin has noticed that he tends to check his pulse whenever he's nervous or excited. He's guessing that today, it's the former.

“No!” Seungmin has also noticed that Felix reverts naturally to English during the same instances. “I thought— we— I thought we agreed that you were picking it up!”

Jisung groans and vehemently shakes his head; Seungmin knows it’s probably not the best time to be cracking up at their carelessness, but he can’t help himself. His shoulders start to shake as he contains his laughter, while Hyunjin is turning in his seat to give the two in the back reassuring looks.

“Hey guys, it’s okay,” Hyunjin tells them. “Gifts don’t matter, what was important to me was that you guys celebrate today with me anyway!”

“Hyunjin, no!” Jisung huffs. “We got you a jersey of your favorite football player—! But they were all out at the store we went to, so we called to reserve one from another branch and—”

“—and Jisung was supposed to pick it up!” Felix finishes for him; and then he ducks his head and rubs the back of his neck. “Or maybe I was? Ah, I’m not sure anymore! We already paid for it too— online!”

“Well, I guess you just got Hyunjin off the hook for getting you both birthday presents,” Seungmin remarks, more teasing than anything else.

“Hey, wait! No! We got him a gift!” Jisung quickly clarifies. “It’ll be a little late, is all!”

“Yeah…” Felix echoes. “Sorry, mate,” he adds, throwing Hyunjin a genuinely rueful look. “We’ll get it to you by  Monday.”

“Guys, it’s really okay!” Hyunjin assures them both. “Just make it up to me by having as much fun as possible tonight. All on me.”

“Okay! Call!” Jisung nods quickly, one arm wrapping around Felix as if to show camaraderie. “We’re going to get the most smashed we’ve ever been tonight, right, Lix?”

“Right!” Felix echoes agreeably.

Hyunjin whoops excitedly, and Seungmin is left to groan because suddenly it feels like it’s going to be a Very Long Night.

  
  
  


 

It’s a little past midnight when Seungmin starts to feel the alcohol affecting him so he decides to excuse himself for a while. He really isn’t used to drinking and partying, and if his tolerance is this low, he doubts this will ever be his scene.

To be fair, he has been having a good time - it’s been fun dancing the night away with his friends, even though Jisung keeps insisting on taking a round of shots in between every other song, and Seungmin has to keep refusing while constantly reminding them that he's driving them all home later on.

He’d agreed to drink beer, at least, assuming that he'll mostly sweat it out on the dance floor anyway. It didn't completely work, obviously even though he barely even had two bottles,  which is why he makes his way out to the sidewalk for some air. He takes a walk around the block, and stops by a convenience store by the corner of the street - he lets time pass, and only when he feels that his head has cleared does he start to walk back to the club.

“Seungmin-sunbaenim? Hey!” A familiar face greets him out in the sidewalk, just outside the entrance. Jeongin, he thinks. Yang Jeongin - that’s the hoobae’s name. He’d met him during the OT for freshmen the month prior, when he’d been assigned to give an introductory talk for their department. The boy flashes a big, bright smile at him right as he gives him a polite bow. Over the last few weeks, Seungmin has only seen Jeongin in passing along the halls, and the most interaction they’ve had were quick bows and nods. The first thing he notices now is that Jeongin’s smile is bigger, brighter, wider and without the showy braces he still wore during the orientation.

“Jeongin-ssi— you got,” Seungmin bares his own set of teeth and points at them, “them removed?”

“I did,” Jeongin nods, grinning proudly. “Just the other day, so my friends said we should go out tonight to celebrate. It’s silly—”

“No, it’s not,” Seungmin assures him. “I just didn’t peg you to be the clubbing type.”

“Well,” Jeongin laughs boldly. “I could say the same thing about you, sunbaenim.”

There’s a challenge in his tone that would probably have not sat well with anyone else - actually, it probably would have irked Seungmin if it was also coming from anyone else, but there’s something about Jeongin’s wide, cheeky grin that endears him to Seungmin. It was a big part of why they’d easily hit it off, even back during orientation, and Seungmin had supplied the younger with his contact info, and the parting words, ‘call or text if you ever need help with anything.’ (Jeongin did, once, asking about building names - about building TBA, of all things, and Jisung, who had been snooping over Seungmin’s shoulder had tried to convince him to mess with the kid; which, Seungmin, as a Very Responsible and Kind Sunbae, had refused to do.)

“It’s my friend’s birthday,” Seungmin admits - it’s not as if Jeongin was wrong anyway. This really isn’t his usual scene, and he’d just come to the conclusion that it very likely never will be, and there’s no reason to deny this.

“Makes sense,” Jeongin agrees, and this time around Seungmin actually narrows his eyes at him. But Jeongin just laughs, and Seungmin really can’t bring himself to pull the sunbae card on him for some reason.

“Aren’t your friends looking for you inside—?” Seungmin asks, only for his question to be punctuated with a sudden buzzing coming from his pocket.

“I think your friends are looking for you,” Jeongin retorts, chuckling. “But I’ll see you around, sunbaenim!” He says, waving at him, right before he heads on inside and Seungmin proceeds to pick up the persistent call.

“Hello? Jisung—?” He’d caught a quick glimpse of the name on screen before he’d swiped his thumb across the ‘receive call’ option, but the voice that greets him is only vaguely familiar.

“Is this Seungmin-ssi?” The stranger asks, and just like that Seungmin straightens up, on alert but trying not to panic over the fact that someone else has his friend’s phone.

“Yeah, that’s me— where’s Jisung?”

“About that— him and your other friend? Felix—?” He pauses, and in the background Seungmin hears the faint sound of someone wretching, followed by soft and comforting muttering that he can’t quite make out.

“Hello? Who is this?” He tries again, already turning around so he can head back inside and look for his friends himself.

“This is Minho— Lee Minho?”

“Oh—” Seungmin remembers seeing the older male earlier that evening, dancing with his friends, right before Seungmin had gone out for some air. He keeps hearing movement on the other line, and it heightens his worry. “Why do you have Jisung’s phone?”

Minho takes several seconds before he finally speaks again, “We’re in the bathroom— I’m with Jisung and your other friend? Felix— they’ve both had a little too much to drink and—”

He hears more throwing up, and frustrated, Seungmin snaps, “I’ll be there,” before ending the call and stomping through the crowd to get to the other side of the club where he’d spotted bathroom signs earlier.

“Hey—?” He calls out after pushing the door to the men’s room open; a couple of strangers standing in front of the urinals turn to look at him; annoyed, Seungmin rolls his eyes and scoffs at them before walking further inside until he finds Minho and his two idiot friends, all together in the handicapped stall at the end.

Felix and Jisung are both crouched over the toilet bowl, both of them dry heaving; Seungmin assumes it’s because they’d both already thrown up everything they actually can. Behind them, is Minho, still looking annoyingly immaculate as he runs his hands up and down along their backs. Seungmin thinks he should have seen this coming - after all, Felix was the only one who actually kept drinking the shots that Jisung kept doling out, right from the start of the evening.

“Shit,” Seungmin mumbles, catching Minho’s attention whose expression switches to one of relief when he turns to look over his shoulder and spots him. “Are they okay?”

“Yeah—” Minho chuckles, shifting a bit to make room for Seungmin in the stall. “Obviously partied a little too hard, though,” he adds with a snort.

“Where’s Hyunjin?” Seungmin asks, worry lines etched across his forehead as he leans down a bit so he can take over rubbing Felix’s back as Minho transfers his focus entirely on Jisung.

“Don’t worry about him,” Minho assures Seungmin; he gets up to his feet and he starts trying to pull Jisung along with him. “He’s talking to a friend of mine— he isn’t as thrashed as these two are. Jisung told me it’s his birthday, so I told him I got these two covered— I didn’t want him to have to take care of his friends on his special night.”

The implied care behind Minho’s actions surprises Seungmin, and he can’t help but look at Minho in a new light. He doesn’t really know a lot about the older - the most interaction he’s had with him was during the departmental MT they had at the start of of Seungmin and Jisung’s second freshman term. Even then, they didn’t talk much, but he had easily observed the way Jisung was naturally drawn to him, had witnessed how Minho pushed, pulled, and led his friend around in circles. Jisung always talked so highly of him, but Seungmin has always been a bit wary. Right now, however, he can appreciate that not only has Minho taken it upon himself to care for his two inebriated friends, but he did it so that Hyunjin wouldn’t have to be saddled with the responsibility.

“Thank you, sunbaenim,” he mutters, mirroring Minho’s actions and helping Felix to his feet as well. “We should probably help them to some water,” he adds, one arm wrapping around Felix’s midsection as the latter leans against his side. Felix has a silly, drunken smile that Seungmin finds equal parts endearing and irritating. “I should probably… also— take everyone home.”

He looks around the dance floor after they exit the bathroom, eyes peeled for the last member of their usual quartet.

“Over at the bar,” Minho informs him as he struggles with keeping a giggly Jisung upright. “He still seems to be having fun,” he adds, laughing distractedly as Jisung nuzzles against his neck.

Seungmin glances towards the direction of the bar where Hyunjin does seem to be enjoying himself; he’s laughing loudly and freely while talking to someone - Minho’s friend, he assumes. He squints a little and realises that the person making his friend laugh actually looks familiar; he’s a senior from some other engineering department, and he’s trying to recall his name, when Felix suddenly speaks up, all excited, with his breath warm and ticklish against Seungmin’s skin.

“Look—” he gestures towards Hyunjin, “Jinnie’s with Changbin-sunbaenim!” Changbin, Seungmin thinks - and it hits him that that’s the name of the senior that Jisung has more than once mentioned before that Felix has a crush on.

“Sssh, Lix—” Seungmin sighs, and once again rubs Felix’s back to try and get him to calm down. In response, Felix _does_ settle down, sighing and just leaning against Seungmin for much needed support as the latter helps him head to the exit. Felix smiles and nuzzles against Seungmin’s shoulder, and even though he's smashed, it's a gesture sweet enough that it actually makes Seungmin smile. He glances at Minho. “We should try and get them both to my car, and then I can come back and tell Hyunjin that we need to go.”

Minho hums, but he nods and gestures for Seungmin to lead the way. “Are you sure you can drive, though?” He asks, once they’re out in the parking lot.

“Yeah— yes, I’m sure,” Seungmin assures him; he unlocks his car once it comes into view. “I had a little over a bottle of beer, but I’m good now. Plus— we’re all sleeping over at Jisung’s, and it’s not that far from here.”

Minho still looks a bit apprehensive, which almost makes Seungmin rolls his eyes - it’s funny to him because no one has ever questioned his dependability.

“Just making sure,” Minho explains, shrugging as he helps Jisung into the back seat of Seungmin’s car. “Jisung’s always talking about how you’re the most responsible person he knows, so yeah— I trust you won’t drive drunk.”

“He does?” He tries to mask his feelings of surprise as he allows Felix to climb into the car after Jisung.

“I do!” Jisung calls out; apparently he’s still conscious, and his sudden interjection draws chuckles out from both Seungmin and Minho. “Seungmin has a stick up his ass all the fucking time but we love him anyway!!”

“Yes, we do!!” Felix echoes, and even though he can’t help but laugh, it’s then and there that Seungmin closes the door on them.

Minho, meanwhile, keeps laughing. “Yeah, I was trying to be nice— but that’s actually how he puts it all the time.”

Seungmin rolls his eyes and scoffs, ignoring Minho for now so he can open the front passenger door. He rummages through his bag that’s been left at the foot of the seat, and pulls out a bottle of water which he proceeds to shove into Jisung’s hands. “You two— hydrate yourself,” he orders. “Stay put while I fetch Hyunjin.”

Behind him, Minho is still laughing, and Seungmin decides that his high-pitched tittering is starting to become annoying. “What’s so funny?” He asks gruffly as he locks his car to make sure that his two drunk friends don’t get out.

“Nothing,” Minho shrugs. “Jisung just… describes you very accurately.”

Seungmin has no idea what that means, which makes him bristle. “Jisung tells you a lot about me, huh?” He asks, walking past Minho to head back into the club; the older doesn’t miss a beat and easily falls into step with him.

“About you, yeah,” Minho nods. “About all of you. He talks a lot, you know.”

“Yeah,” Seungmin grudgingly agrees. Jisung talks an awful lot about Minho, too, but he isn't sure he wants to let the older know that. “He really does.” He gives Minho a quick glance, and the way his lips are slightly curled up at the corners in a fond smile isn’t lost on him, and now he’s a bit confused.

“You don’t like me much, do you?” Minho suddenly asks, straight to the point, and easily disarming Seungmin.

“What—” Seungmin wrinkles his nose; Minho isn’t exactly accurate in his assumption, but he isn’t entirely incorrect either. “What gives you that impression, sunbaenim?” He asks, lips pressed together thinly; Minho only chuckles in response, which drives Seungmin up a wall, and before he realises it, the words are spilling off his lips, “Sunbaenim— what do you think of Jisung?” While he’s most definitely sober enough to drive, perhaps the alcohol has still lowered his inhibitions sufficiently enough to give him enough pluck to ask Minho this.

“I think—” Minho chortles, and shakes his head a little. “I think he’s drunk as fuck. That boy doesn’t know how to control himself with alcohol.”

His nonchalant answer irks Seungmin, who snaps, “He’s working on his tolerance, sunbaenim.” Seungmin has always had the notion that Jisung, even though he’s pretty sure that Jisung will never cop to it (he isn’t even sure if Jisung himself is aware), is hellbent on pushing his alcohol limit, is so that his precious Minho-hyung will think highly of him.

Minho hums, and there it is again, the small, fond smile that Seungmin had noticed earlier. “He’s silly,” Minho says simply; and then, softer, lower, barely audible, “and cute.”

“Wait—” Seungmin gives him a curious look; the entire night so far, is slowly becoming proof that Jisung’s unsaid crush just might be requited. “What’s going on between you and Jisung, sunbaenim?”

“You ask all your seniors impertinent questions like this?” Minho shoots back, and for a brief moment, Seungmin thinks he’s offended him, which makes him both annoyed and sorry at once. And then he sees that Minho still has a faint smile on his lips, and he figures out that this is the older just blatantly avoiding answering the inquiry.

“No fair,” he mutters under his breath, but Minho pretends not to hear that.

“Come on,” Minho says instead, “let’s go get your birthday boy.”

  
  


 

— ❦ —

  
  


 

Life falls back into its regular lull after Hyunjin’s birthday - lectures start to get more in depth, and professors start assigning more and more work that time starts to feel like it’s passing too quickly again.

Early on, the four of them had made a point to enlist in at least one class together (Jisung’s idea, because according to him ‘it’d be fun to be together!’ and before Seungmin could roll his eyes and point out that he’s sick of having Jisung around all the time, Hyunjin and Felix had echoed the sentiment, and he decided that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if it meant he’d get to spend time with them too), and they’d ended up taking some elective called Approaches to Philosophy, which met on Tuesdays and Thursdays at one in the afternoon, so naturally they’d ended up having lunch together on those days as well.

Seungmin supposes that Jisung’s idea really was for the best, because as everyone’s work load for the term starts to pile up, he and Jisung start seeing less and less of Hyunjin and Felix. Even their Kakao GC starts getting less traffic unless you count the occasional meme pictures that Felix or Jisung would send, but more often than not Seungmin ignores those anyway.

It’s on a Sunday evening that Seungmin gets a surprise message notification from Hyunjin; he’s in the middle of revising his Statistics problem set when his phone dings and when he checks, he finds a notification telling him that he has a new message from his friend.

 _Hey, Seungminnie_ , it reads, followed by five exclamation points and a string of emojis. Seungmin rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling because this is just how Hyunjin talks on messenger and he’s used to it by now.

 _Are you free to talk?_ Hyunjin asks, which has Seungmin shifting the majority of his attention to him, because this is always how he starts conversations when there’s something that’s bothering him and he needs Seungmin’s opinion.

Yeah, I’m here, Seungmin sends, and then after a pause, he offers, do you want to video call?

It takes a second before his message is marked as seen, and then shortly after, a prompt pops up on his screen asking him to accept Hyunjin’s video call request.

“Hey!” He greets his friend, smiling after he clicks on the green accept call button; the picture is a bit choppy for a few seconds, but then it comes into focus and Hyunjin’s handsome face fills the display. “What’s up—?”

Hyunjin purses his lips, and he doesn’t say anything immediately. The expression he’s wearing is familiar - Seungmin easily recognises it as worry, and the last time he’d seen it was when Hyunjin had approached him a couple of months ago, worried that he’d tanked his Introduction to Industrial Engineering finals, and lowkey panicking about his future in his degree programme. It turned out to be a premature meltdown, because when his grades came out, he’d ended up passing the course just fine; Seungmin assumes now that his friend is undergoing a similar freakout.

“It’s okay, Hyunjin,” he assures soothingly, wanting to let the other know that he’s ready to listen, like he always is. “What’s wrong?”

Hyunjin takes a deep breath and then he exhales very slowly, as if he’s buying himself time, and Seungmin patiently waits. “There’s—” He begins, and a small frown curves across his mouth. “There’s someone that I think I like.”

“Oh?” Confusion shadows Seungmin’s features, and he tilts his head as he holds his phone up at a better angle. “That’s…? Isn’t that a good thing? Or—? This person likes you too, right?” He’s assuming this is the case, because quite frankly, he can’t imagine anyone not liking Hyunjin.

Hyunjin sighs,  but then he nods, and Seungmin really doesn’t get his heavy countenance.

“Yeah,” Hyunjin confirms verbally. “I think so…? I mean— I think he’s been pretty clear that he does?”

“That’s a good thing then!” Seungmin points out; he smiles, an attempt to lift Hyunjin’s mood because he figures that his friend is probably just overthinking things, that Hyunjin is likely looking too far ahead into his future again and assuming negative outcomes like he did with his grades last term. “You should be happy.”

“Yeah, I guess, but…” Hyunjin trails off before letting out another worried sigh. “It’s— It’s Changbin-hyung.”

“Changbin?” Seungmin repeats the name, because it sounds familiar; it takes him all of two seconds before his brain does the appropriate association.

Changbin. Jisung’s Minho’s friend. The guy who was making Hyunjin laugh so loudly and freely on his birthday. The one that Felix had (has?) a crush on.

 _Oh,_ he thinks. Now it makes sense why Hyunjin looks so worried.

“Oh, Hyunjinnie—” Seungmin whispers softly; it’s not as if he’s really heard Felix talk about this Changbin guy all that much, so he doesn’t really know how much Felix likes him. Or if he still _does_ like him. But he knows that to Hyunjin, that doesn’t matter as much as the fact that he has somehow found himself having feelings for someone that his friend liked first. “How did this happen?”

“You remember my birthday—? We just, kind of… got to talking. And then after that… we kept talking? I mean— we exchanged Kakao IDs and we’ve been texting since. He’s—” Hyunjin appears momentarily flustered, and even in his harangued state, Seungmin can tell that he’s holding back soft giggles at the mere memory of Changbin. “He’s sweet, and funny, and—” He sighs, and hangs his head low, and Seungmin knows that his discomfort over feeling what he feels has taken over again. “Seungminnie, I don’t know what to do.”

It’s Seungmin’s turn to sigh; the truth is he wishes that Hyunjin had avoided this predicament. He can’t imagine liking someone any of his friends like - or _liked,_ even. But he also knows that Hyunjin didn’t actively choose to have feelings for Changbin, either. “Does Felix know?” He purses his lips, and then he adds, “Does Felix still like him?”

“No,” Hyunjin shakes his head. “And— I’m not sure, actually? You know Felix, he’s obvious when he _starts_ liking someone, but then he doesn’t talk about his feelings with me that much, either.”

Seungmin hums, pretending to agree, but the truth is that he doesn’t really know that about Felix. It’s true that they’re closer now than they used to be, but Felix never really tells him about his crushes - Seungmin usually hears all about it from Jisung though, so he assumes that if there’s anyone who would know the answer to whether or not Felix still likes Changbin, it would be him.

“Maybe Jisung knows—?” He offers, and then he frowns because that doesn’t really seem sound advice. “Actually,” he appends, “maybe you should talk to Felix directly about this?”

Hyunjin winces, clearly uncomfortable with the idea, but he also nods, which shows that he also agrees that it’s the right thing to do.

“Hyunjin?” Seungmin calls out, his tone soft, and worried. “How much do you like this Changbin guy?” He doesn’t really get what kind of magnetic pull this person has, that two of his friends have fallen for his charms. Call him shallow, but Seungmin doesn’t really find him to be physically attractive. He recalls how boisterous Hyunjin’s laughter was when he’d seen them together, so he supposes Changbin must be a funny guy - but then again, Hyunjin laughs at anything and everything, anyway.

“Seungmin,” Hyunjin whispers, and from the way his voice wavers a bit, Seungmin already knows the answer before he can even continue. “A lot.”

He sighs, the answer giving him a strange concerned feeling. “Then yeah,” he whispers back. “You should probably be talking to Felix instead.”

Hyunjin is silent for a few seconds before he nods slowly. “You’re right,” he acknowledges. “Of course, you’re right. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Seungmin accepts, even though he doesn’t think such simple advice is anything to be grateful for; and he doubts it made Hyunjin feel any better anyway. “Hey,” he adds, “just— don’t beat yourself up over your feelings, yeah? You like him, and he likes you back. That’s not anyone’s fault, so don’t apologise for it— not even to Felix.”

“Seungminnie— I’ll try,” Hyunjin’s breath hitches, and then finally, a timid smile cracks through his anxious facade. “Thank you. You always know what to say.”

  
  
  


 

Hyunjin doesn’t update Seungmin when he finally talks to Felix, but he assumes it happened, and he assumes that it went well because by the end of first term Hyunjin has started ‘casually dating’ Changbin.

“What does that mean?” Seungmin asks him when Hyunjin tells him the news.

He gets a shrug in response. “I mean— he’s told me that he really likes me, but I guess we’re, uh— well I guess we’re taking things slow?”

“Are you happy?” And then Hyunjin had lit up so brightly that he didn’t really have to say anything else for Seungmin to know the answer. “Well, if you’re happy,” Seungmin tells him, “then that’s all that matters.”

He wants to ask about what Felix said - or if they’d even talked at all, but Hyunjin looks so merry and content, and he’s already moved on to recounting some assinine joke that Changbin had texted him just then, that he can’t bring himself to bring up something that could potentially break the mood, so he doesn’t.

Fate is funny, though, because the day after Hyunjin tells him the news, Seungmin finds himself alone with Felix. Hyunjin is off on a date, while Jisung is busy cramming some final paper he has for some elective that Seungmin is (for once) not taking with him.

Felix is quietly reading notes he photocopied from a classmate, reviewing for an oral exam he has later that afternoon, while Seungmin, who is already done with all his requirements for the term, is just reading a mystery novel that Minho - who he has surprisingly warmed up to - has recommended to him, because one time they’d walked to the student union together and Seungmin had mentioned that he was trying to make a conscious effort to read more fiction, just for reading’s sake and not because he has been assigned to do so for class.

They’ve easily fallen into companionable silence, or at least it feels that way until Seungmin gets to around halfway through the third chapter (where the main plot is only just starting to unravel), and Felix lets out a loud groan as he slams his photocopied notes down on the table.

“If I read these any more, I’m going to lose my mind,” he declares, and when Seungmin peers up from his book, he can see clear frustration marring Felix’s otherwise soft features. “I need to think about something else— Jisung’s right, oh man. I’d be better off winging an oral exam.”

Seungmin doesn’t really agree with Jisung’s advice - he prefers to be well-prepared, and he likes to read and reread probable exam content. But this method actually (very annoyingly) works for Jisung, and who is Seungmin to say it won’t for Felix as well. So instead of providing counter-advice, he puts his book down and tries to think of something - anything - that can help give Felix the distraction he’s asking for.

“You know about Hyunjinnie, right?” He blurts out without thinking it through. Shit, he thinks - he didn’t realise how close to the surface of his thoughts this particular topic was. To be fair, it hasn’t been twenty four hours since Hyunjin had told him, and now he’s away on a goddamn date while Seungmin is here with Felix - of course he’s going to be wondering about this. Or, well, this is the excuse that Seungmin tells himself anyway.

Felix’s expression makes several transformations in the span of a few seconds - it goes from blank, to confused, to surprised, and then suddenly he’s breaking out into laughter.

“What— what’s so funny?” Seungmin huffs, mildly irritated at the response he’s gotten.

“Well, uh— your face,” Felix sputters, obviously trying to reel his laughter in, but only halfway succeeding. “You look— shit, what’s the Korean word for it— I can’t— just. _Constipated.”_ He says it in English, but Seungmin understands it anyway, and he has to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from scowling.

“What?!”

“No, no— wait, no I’m sorry—!” Felix gestures wildly. “I don’t mean to offend, ahhh— it was, um cute!”

“What?” Seungmin asks again, but this time he’s more confused than upset.

Felix beams and shakes his head. “Never mind!” He says. “But— you were talking about Hyunjin, right? Hyunjin and Changbin-hyung?”

Seungmin nods slowly, concern back on his face. He’s actually surprised at how much he’s voluntarily prying into this; he reasons with himself that it’s because Felix is his friend, and they’ve gotten closer over the last few months so he isn’t overstepping by any means. Also: he would probably hear from Jisung sooner or later anyway, about how Felix is taking this news, but Felix is the one who is here right now, and Seungmin presumes they’ve reached a point in their friendship where he shouldn’t be relying on Jisung to be their gossipy middle man.

“Happy for them!” Felix answers, sounding genuine and hearty. He’s wearing a smile so big that Seungmin is taken aback a little - he doesn’t know why he’d expected at least a wistful reaction.

“You— well, you’re taking this awfully well,” Seungmin mumbles in observation. “You, uh— you liked this Changbin person, didn’t you?”

Felix shrugs. “I did, but he ended up liking Hyunjin, who also likes him back, so— I’m happy for them!”

He’s talking so casually, like it’s such a trivial thing, and Seungmin realises that maybe he had overestimated Felix’s feelings for the guy. It was just a light crush, then, he thinks. “Ah, well, that’s good—” He chuckles softly. “The way Jisung used to go on about it, he acted like you—” He almost says like you were in love with the guy, but he catches himself this time around, fortunately. “He acted as if you really liked this guy,” he clarifies. “A lot.” It didn’t help that Hyunjin’s paranoid freak out made Felix’s crush seem like a bigger deal as well, and he thinks that maybe if he’d heard more about it directly from Felix himself, then he wouldn’t  be making assumptions based on Jisung’s exaggerated oversharing, and Hyunjin’s anxious overthinking.

“Oh, I did,” Felix confirms anyway, and Seungmin’s eyes slightly widen in surprise. “I liked him a lot,” Felix continues, “But Hyunjin is my friend, and, uh— he’s a great guy and I love him— he deserves to be happy, so why shouldn’t he be just because the guy I like fell for him instead of me?”

Seungmin grimaces because Felix is speaking so earnestly, his words dropping with such bright sincerity that he’s unsure how it makes him feel because he thinks if it was him in Felix’s shoes, he would be at least a little bitter. “That’s… oddly mature of you,” he murmurs; he almost said surprisingly mature, because Felix is so childish in the way he acts at times, and so naive in how he expresses his thoughts more often than not. But right now, even though he’s stumbling over his words, clearly having a hard time coming up with the right Korean words to express what he wants to say, the wisdom in his statement still comes through.

“It is?” Felix asks, laughing and looking both surprised and pleased all at once, like a kid who had just been told ‘great job’ by his teacher, or similar. “Thanks— I pretty much told Hyunjin the same thing when he talked to me,” he adds, which answer Seungmin’s question about how that talk went down. “He told me he wouldn’t pursue anything with Changbin-hyung, and then he kept apologising for liking hyung, and— isn’t that silly? That’s nothing to be sorry for— Changbin-hyung is a great guy! I told him I understood completely! And then I told him, it would suck more if I was to be the cause of both of their unhappiness, and I guess that did the trick.”

“Um.” Seungmin is unsure what to say, so he settles with giving Felix a small smile instead.

“Although, actually—” Suddenly, Felix sounds apprehensive and youthfully unsure once more; he pauses, and rubs his neck nervously, before, “Actually, I was a bit concerned about you?”

“Me?” Seungmin has no idea why one should be worried about him; was he missing something?

Felix nods. “Hyunjin told me that he talked to you about this— he said you told him he should talk to me, which—” he smile gratefully, and it’s a soft and pretty smile, Seungmin thinks, “—I appreciate. Thank you. But, uh— I realised that it meant he had talked to you about this, too, and— uh. Don’t you also kind of— like Hyunjin?”

“What.”

Seungmin gawks at him, his eyes practically bugging out because where in the world would Felix get such an idea?!

And then Felix just stares at him with utmost concern, and Seungmin secretly admits to himself that once upon a time, at the start of their freshman year at least, he might have, sort of, kind of, maybe harbored a tiny secret crush on Hyunjin. But that was then, it was honestly pretty short-lived and it hadn’t really grown into anything big because Seungmin hadn’t let it, and he has no idea how in the world Felix could have even picked up on it.

“I don’t—?” It comes across more like a question than an actual statement, so Seungmin repeats himself more clearly. “I really don’t. He’s just a friend that I value a lot.”

“Ah—” Felix smiles turns sheepish, and he ducks his head in embarrassment. It almost makes Seungmin want to admit that there used to be a bit of truth in his assumption, but he quickly bites his tongue because there’s no way he’s ever admitting that brief, passing crush out loud to anyone. “Sorry,” Felix apologises. “I just thought—”

Seungmin shrugs, doing his best to appear nonplussed. “It’s okay— but maybe this time, let’s try being friends that don’t need to assume things about each other?”

“Well—” Felix beams and gives Seungmin an enthusiastic nod, “Let’s do that, then!”

  
  
  


 

A couple of days into the second term, Seungmin is quietly sitting by himself in the university quad, eating triangle kimbap while mindlessly scrolling through a shopping app on his phone, when someone comes up to him from behind, and greets him from seemingly out of nowhere,

“Yo!”

The surprise almost gives him a heart attack, but thankfully all he lets out is a gasp of air, instead of a shrill shriek.

“Han Jisung!” He snarls, as his friend bursts into a fit of laughter.

“You should see your face,” Jisung tells him, snickering as he parks himself on the empty space next to Seungmin. “You look ridiculous,” he adds, helping himself into an open bag of chips that sat between the two of them.

“Who said you can have any?” Seungmin snaps, snatching the bag away and placing it on his other side, out of Jisung’s reach.

“Kim Seungmin,” Jisung huffs. “Friends share, so be a good friend.” And then he proceeds to stuff his face with the handful of chips that he had already managed to get his grubby hands on, and all Seungmin can do is roll his eyes.

“Well what are you sharing with me?” Seungmin shoots back.

“Oh right!” Jisung nods, a big smile curving on his lips; he covers his mouth and hurriedly chomps on the rest of what remains in his mouth, swallowing before he goes on, “You hear about Lix and his new boyfriend?”

“Wait—” Seungmin coughs, and almost chokes on his food. “What?!”

“Yeah!” Jisung nods enthusiastically, very clearly unaware of the sudden distress that he’s brought on Seungmin. “He snagged himself a cute international student.”

For his part, Seungmin isn’t quite sure why there’s a bubbling annoyance that’s rising from the pit of his stomach. _Felix has a new boyfriend_? He wonders, lips curving downwards into a frown, even as Jisung obliviously continues to drone on, already moving on from the topic, and is now updating Seungmin instead on the relationship status of two of their department seniors who have had an on and off relationship since even before Jisung and Seungmin had set foot in university.

Seungmin doesn’t really care, but Jisung always updates him about them anyway, and he’s learned to mostly just let Jisung talk about what he wants most days - Seungmin’s learned to pick his fights, more or less. But right now, he’s completely tuned out because all he can think about is that Felix has a new boyfriend and once again he’s hearing about it only from Jisung.

He slowly begins to identify the feeling that has settled in his gut as disappointment. He had assumed that his agreement with Felix to become the type of friends who wouldn’t need to make presumptions about each other implicitly meant that they would be directly telling each other personal milestones and important life news; he would think that getting a new boyfriend is something relevant enough to be shared.

Armed with this (very trivial, all things considered) grievance, he can’t help but ignore Felix the next time the four of them are all hanging out together. Unfortunately for them, they hadn’t been able to coordinate their schedules well enough this time around to enlist in one common class together, so time spent with all four of them are fewer, further in between, and harder to arrange compared to just months prior.

All of that, and Seungmin still can’t help himself as he pointedly directs all his smiles and comments to only Hyunjin and Jisung. Unsurprisingly, Felix doesn’t pick up on it at first because Jisung and Hyunjin tend to do most of the talking when they’re all together anyway - and especially now that they’re planning what to do for Jisung, Felix and Seungmin’s joint birthday celebration. Jisung is non-stop throwing out grand birthday bash ideas (half of which Seungmin ruthlessly puts down with a simple ‘No, no, Jisung, no’). But then Felix directs a specific question at him (‘Well how do you suggest we celebrate, then?’) and Seungmin abruptly stands up to announce that he was going to go and buy himself a new drink.

The way Jisung and Hyunjin exchange curious looks isn’t lost on him, and neither is the hurt and confusion that immediately registers on Felix’s expression. He ignores them all, though, and starts to make his way to the counter - he really is thirsty anyway.

But then he hears soft, familiar footsteps padding after him, and once the steps catch up with him, he doesn’t have to turn to know that Felix is the one standing beside him.

“Hey, Seungminnie, did I upset you or something?” He asks, pouting as he places a hand on Seungmin’s shoulder. They’d naturally lined up at the back of the queue, and now Seungmin has no choice but to acknowledge Felix as he waits for his turn at the counter.

“I don’t know, Lix—” He starts with his tone firm, but halfway through he sighs, realising that he probably is being somewhat ridiculous. “Maybe there’s some news you want to share with me?” He says, averting his gaze out of slight shame at his own pettiness.

“Huh?” Felix looks genuinely at a loss, which softens Seungmin up considerably.

“Jisung told me you got yourself a boyfriend,” Seungmin tells him, and even then, it takes several seconds before the puzzlement on Felix’s face transforms into understanding.

“Oh! Was he talking about Eric?”

Seungmin shrugs. “He didn’t mention a name.” He pauses, and then because he can’t help himself, “But _you_ didn’t mention anything at all.”

“Ah—” Felix blinks. “Ah! Ah— I’m so sorry mate!” He frowns, looking and sounding quite rueful as he goes on, “I get it now, why you’re upset. Sorry, Seungminnie— you think I held something back from you when we agreed to be more open with each other.”

Seungmin allows himself to relax, grateful that Felix actually seems to understand why he’s upset. Then again, his understanding actually manages to also make his gripe feel even more trivial. “Sorry, I know you don’t owe me explanations,” he mumbles, moving forward as the line does.

“No, don’t worry, it’s okay!” He’s smiling now, and looking relieved - like he’s glad that he’s figured out what’s been bugging Seungmin, at least. “Eric isn’t my boyfriend. We went on like… one date,” he clarifies, holding up one finger for emphasis. “And that was during the last week of break. I haven’t mentioned anything, because it really isn’t anything yet. You know Jisung just likes to make a big deal out of things.”

“Oh.” Now Seungmin feels even sillier, and he hangs his head in shame. “Sorry,” he mutters.

“It’s cool,” Felix assures him. “But— yeah, the date went well! And—” He grins wider, and his arm moves so that it’s casually slung across Seungmin’s shoulders, “—this part Jisung doesn’t know yet, but earlier today, he asked me out again so we have another date this weekend.”  

Seungmin nods slowly, before he finally turns to look at Felix again directly. “He’s a good guy?”

“Hmm, yeah!” Felix brightens up, and nods bouncily. “We get along really well, and if anything ever really comes out of it, I’ll definitely tell you all about it.”

“Yeah, okay—” Seungmin swallows, feeling a wave of shame pass over him. His friendship with Felix is nearing the two year mark and he still has a tough time navigating their dynamics. He reminds himself that as bright and happy-go-lucky Felix appears, he isn’t like Jisung who spills every single detail of every moment of his waking life unsolicited, nor is he like Hyunjin who goes to Seungmin first and foremost with every worry he has. But the two of them have agreed to share with each other more, and Seungmin should trust him enough to do just that.

  
  


 

— ❦ —

  
  


 

 **SWAGBR00z** [ 4 _members,_ 4 _online_ ]

 **meotj1** (08:27 PM):  
yo y’all busy?

 **ddaengmin** (08:30 PM):  
yes  
finals week starts tmr  
u should b busy too

 **hwhj2000** (08:31 PM):  
oh hey guys!  
im w felix at a cafe  
binnie-hyung’s tutoring us in applied statistics!  

 **meotj1** (08:34 PM):  
TF I CANT BELIEVE U MADE MY MAN UR THIRD WHEEL  
oh but speaking of tutorials  
minho-hyung promised to help me study 4 building structures 1 tmr  
u wanna come with @ seungmin

 **ddaengmin** (08:36 PM):  
... werent u just talking abt felix being a third wheel 🙄  
also isn’t minho-hyung busy taking care of his graduating reqts????

 **lix_the_cat** (08:37 PM):  
dont wry guys i dont feel like a third wheel at all 😅  
hyunjin dont worry pls!!  
changbin-hyung is rly helping me out  
stat is hard!

 **meotj1** (08:40 PM):  
nah he’s done w his thesis  
he got the highest possible marks!!!! 🤩  
so he said he’ll help us out if we want

 **ddaengmin** (08:41 PM):  
... ok i’ll think abt it  
but tell hyung congrats on his thesis

 **meotj1** (08:42 PM):  
ANYWAY!!!!  
thats not why i msg’d!  
u guys...  
lets go 2 a ski lodge during the break

 **lix_the_cat** (08:44 PM):  
oh man! that sounds gr8!  
im in! 😁

 **meotj1** (08:45 PM):  
@ hyunjin seungmin?  
SEUNGMIN U ARENT ENROLLING FOR THE WINTER TERM AGAIN R U  
DONT BE A FUCKING NERD THIS YEAR PLS 🙏

 **ddaengmin** (08:46 PM):  
shut up  
but… yea ok that does sound kinda fun…

 **hwhj2000** (08:46 PM):  
guys binnie-hyung keeps looking over my shoulder ㅎㅎㅎ  
is it ok if i invite him too?

 **lix_the_cat** (08:47 PM):  
yea! do it!

 **ddaengmin** (08:47 PM):  
aren’t u 2 together???

 **lix_the_cat** (08:48 PM):  
well this is a discussion for the four of us! 😅

 **meotj1** (08:48 PM):  
wat do u say seungmin  
should we let hyunjin take his bf along? 🤔🤔

 **ddaengmin** (08:49 PM):  
yea whatever idrc

 **meotj1** (08:50 PM):  
oh  
then can i invite minho-hyung too?!  
he’s best friends w changbin-hyung anyway!!

 **ddaengmin** (08:52 PM):  
…lmao  
wat abt u lix, u wanna invite someone too?

 **lix_the_cat** (08:55 PM):  
me?  
nah.  
i think im good  
😊

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ ☆ ] [Morning Care](https://10mag.com/korean-hangover-cure-guide-what-kind-of-hangover-do-you-have/) is a type of hangover drink. Korea has a lot of those, because… well, their drinking culture is insane.
> 
> [ ☆ ] Please, I'm so curious about your thoughts so far, especially if you've made it to this point! Some parts are obtuse on purpose, and I like hearing about it if some of my intended effect has gotten through readers, so please leave your feedback! Here or on [CC](http://curiouscat.me/yiminho) (':


	3. iii: everybody’s chasing something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seungmin's third year in university featuring petty squabbles and chest flutters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ ☆ ] This is a little late because this chapter kind of took me ages to write. Sorry about that! But, I hope you're still with me as I tell this story. ♥

❦

 

 

 

 

 _Dreaming of the day_   
_We have some alternative plans_   
_Like holding hands, and staring up_ _  
And counting little stars_

“Alternative Plans,” ELLEGARDEN

  
  
  


 

“What the f—!!!” Jisung’s eyes grow wide the moment he sets his eyes on Seungmin. “Your hair!!”

It’s a Monday, a month and a half into their third year of university. Seungmin laughs, because as usual Jisung is being extra, yet at the same time he had expected this exact reaction.

“It’s—” Seungmin's breath hitches as he reaches up to card his fingers through his hair, which is now colored a deep shade of scarlet. “It looks fine, right?” He’s actually a little nervous - in all his twenty-one years of living, this is the first time he’s ever gotten his hair dyed. Anything other than black or brown was frowned upon by his high school, but he really hasn’t had any acceptable excuse since having entered university. Jisung, on the other hand - well, Seungmin thinks he’s maybe seen Jisung’s natural hair color _once_ , in all the time that they’ve been friends. Maybe that’s why he’s actually feeling _anxious_ about what Jisung thinks about his first dye job.

“Damn, Seungmin, you look—” Jisung pauses and rubs his chin, eyes squinting at him as if to properly study his looks in order to come up with an appropriate adjective. “Uh, you look really _pretty.”_

Seungmin blinks, and then he feels a rush of proud warmth wash over him. “Yeah—?” He mumbles, pleased but also embarrassed to be caring this much over Jisung’s opinion. “Thanks.”

“Wow, for once you’re actually accepting of _my_ opinion!” Jisung comments, teasing and poking at Seungmin’s side, who rolls his eyes with exasperation before half-heartedly swatting Jisung’s hand away.

“Yeah, something weird must have been in my coffee today,” Seungmin retorts, but there isn’t much bite in his tone; quite frankly, he’s just glad that his hair seems to be a hit so far.

 _“Hey guys!”_ They both turn and look when they hear Felix’s familiar Australian drawl greeting them. He’s walking up to them, looking quite excited, and with a surprised looking Hyunjin in tow.

“Seungminnie!” Hyunjin gasps softly, hand immediately reaching over to push a stray lock of red hair away from Seungmin’s left eye. “New hair!”

“Uh, yeah—?” He laughs softly; okay, _now_ he’s a little embarrassed that all eyes are suddenly on him. “It’s just hair, guys, it’ll grow out, and I’ll be back to black soon enough.”

“No!” Jisung argues. “It suits you! What brought the change on anyway?”

“What, I’m not allowed?” Seungmin huffs; he’s always been a little sensitive when it comes to interrogation.

“No!” Hyunjin shakes his head. “We’re just curious—”

Seungmin sighs. “I just— thought that some change would be nice for once.”

“ _Some change would be nice for once,”_ Jisung repeats, his tone teasingly mocking; Seungmin shoots  a sharp glare at his direction, and in return Jisung just laughs and sticks his tongue out at him.

“Hey!” Felix finally speaks up, his arm easily wrapping around Seungmin’s shoulders in a casual manner. “I think it’s exciting.”

“Wait, why don’t you seem surprised?” Hyunjin questions Felix. “At all?”

Felix laughs, and finally retracts his arm. “Uh—”

“He helped me dye my hair,” Seungmin answers for him while shrugging his shoulders. “The other day.”

“Wait, what?!” Jisung gawks at Felix. “You knew about his red  hair and you didn’t tell me?!” He turns to Hyunjin. “Did he tell _you—?_ Wait, you were surprised too, so he didn’t, but—” He turns to look at both Felix and Seungmin again. “What’s going on!”

“Okay, first of all, close your mouth,” Seungmin instructs Jisung. “Keep it hanging open like that and a fly just might swoop in and make itself at home in your throat.” Jisung lets out a snappy harumph, but he _does_ quickly clamp his mouth shut. “Second, why is it such a big deal that Felix helped me?!”

“Because!” Jisung whines, sliding closer to Hyunjin so that he can place an arm around the taller boy. “Hyunjin and I would have liked to help aid this big transformation too!”

“Jisung— I got my hair dyed. I didn’t get gender reassignment surgery,” Seungmin points out; whatever importance he’d earlier placed on Jisung’s opinion has now been replaced by his usual exasperation.

“Yeah, but— it’s the first time you ever colored your hair,” Jisung says, pouting as if he’s actually _truly_ disappointed that he wasn’t able to take part in this. It almost makes Seungmin feel bad, just a little.

He sighs. “Look, it’s not like it was planned— I just… wanted a change, and Felix was there.”

Around the end of the last term, Seungmin had signed up for an English Conversation Club at school; his language comprehension has always been at a high level, but he’s always felt a little insecure about his conversational skills, despite always getting praised for his pronunciation. So he’d decided to add a little extracurricular to his plate - the senior who had recruited him assured him that it wouldn’t take too much of his time, anyway. But when he had turned up for the club’s MT just last week, he’d found himself surprised because Felix was already there.

“You didn’t tell me you joined this—?” Seungmin berated his friend, pretending to be hurt, even though he was more relieved than anything else to find a friendly, familiar face.

“You didn’t tell any of us you were going too?” Felix shot back at him, looking genuinely confused as to why Seungmin was appearing upset, and Seungmin couldn’t bring himself to keep up the facade anymore, and he’d just laughed and sat next to Felix, demanding that they be roommates for the two nights they were going to be away. Apparently Felix has been a member of the club for a year already, and upon finding this out, Seungmin started to feel ashamed for not being aware himself. (“Don’t worry,” Felix assured, him, laughing. “I don’t talk about it because—” and then he’d lowered his voice so only Seungmin can hear, “—I hardly ever attend club events anyway.”)

It had been a good couple of days; Seungmin was forced to speak solely in English the entire time, and while he had been nervous at the start, he was most definitely more confident by the end of the MT. More importantly, however, was that he’d met and gotten himself acquainted with students he normally wouldn’t have mingled with. The English Conversation Club had students from not only other departments, but other colleges and institutes within the university; Seungmin had never thought that he was living in a very small world before, but after socializing with more non-Engineering students, he’d started to feel stifled - like his life experience has been very limited so far.

And so it went - after the trip, he was in his car with Felix, who had just expertly buckled himself into the passenger seat; he was supposed to drive his friend home, when out of nowhere, Seungmin announced, “I want to dye my hair.”

“What—?” Felix had laughed, more at the randomness of the declaration than anything else. “Right now?!”

And Seungmin eagerly nodded his head, afraid that if he put it off for another day, he would end up chickening out of the decision.

“Well, okay!” Felix nodded, even more enthusiastic than Seungmin felt, and somehow it was the exact attitude that Seungmin needed from him, in order to feel more relaxed.

And then they’d driven to a nearby supermarket so they can pick out DIY hair dye themselves. Initially, Felix had tried to convince Seungmin to get the same bright orange shade that he was sporting. (“You can match with me and Jisung,” he’d suggested confidently, even pointing at his own head of hair, only to get a grimace from Seungmin in response. “I like Flaming Hot Cheetos,” Seungmin told him, “to eat, but not on my head.”) In the end Seungmin had chosen Shade: Fine Wine Red, and Felix had nodded approvingly because it was a color that didn’t require him to bleach his hair and burn his scalp.

And then they’d headed straight to Felix and his sister’s apartment, where they’d gotten the job done in his bathroom sink, while Rachel watched on with amusement. Afterwards, Seungmin had nervously admired himself in the mirror while making Felix promise not to say a word to either Jisung or Hyunjin, because he was kind of looking forward to the shock on their faces once they see him with the new hair.

Now here they are, and Seungmin has gotten exactly the kind of reaction he was expecting, at least for the most part. He certainly had not predicted the dash of hurt marring Jisung’s expression.

  
  
  


 

“Hey, you aren’t really upset, are you?” Seungmin asks Jisung, once they separate from Hyunjin and Felix. It’s a new school year, but of course, as usual, they’re stuck taking the same classes. Seungmin doesn’t even have it in him to pretend that he doesn’t want to coordinate schedules with Jisung anymore; at the end of the last term, Jisung had turned up at Seungmin’s house, and they’d chosen subjects together.

“Huh?” Whatever slight it was that Jisung maybe felt earlier is completely gone; there isn’t even any trace of it left because now he just looks completely confused as to what Seungmin is asking about. Seungmin would be annoyed, but he’s used to Jisung being like this at this point. He’s sensitive, easily hurt at times, but more often than not it passes by quickly; it used to grind at Seungmin’s nerves, but now he’s more relieved than anything else that he didn’t really make Jisung feel bad.

Despite their usual bickering, Seungmin and Jisung have only really ever fought for real once, and only when pressed would Seungmin would grudgingly admit that it was around 99% his fault. It had happened after midterms the previous semester, and his exam scores had come back to Seungmin lower than he’d anticipated. Tired and pissed off, he’d unwittingly lashed out Jisung, blaming his friend for convincing him during their overnight study session, to put his revision notes down in favor of getting a good night’s sleep.

“I don’t care if you want to throw your life away, just don’t drag me down with you,” were the words that Seungmin had thrown at Jisung, and even then Seungmin was well aware that he was out of line. But it was like word vomit, and he couldn’t stop himself even if he tried - which he didn’t, really, because Jisung was there, and Seungmin was feeling petty enough and desperately in need of blaming someone.

Jisung had gone an entire week giving him the silent treatment because Seungmin, consumed by his pride, had refused to apologise. It was pretty torturous considering the amount of classes they shared; he doesn’t know how his friendship with Jisung would have fared if the latter hadn't succumbed in the end - approaching Seungmin, and apologising first, even though the entire ordeal was less _his_ fault, and more Seungmin's.

That little episode, if anything, has at least taught Seungmin to be more mindful of what comes out of his mouth, especially around his friends. Banter is fun, until it isn’t, and Seungmin has resolved to be more aware of his words because of it. Moreover, he’s learned to appreciate his friends more - he’s allowed himself to refer to them as his _best_ friends, because that’s what they are. The type of friends who will stick by him, even when he’s being an unbearable asshole, ready to throw them all away just because he’s having a shitty day.

“Nothing,” he answers Jisung now, just offering his friend a smile when Jisung keeps looking at him weirdly. He takes his usual seat, somewhere in the middle of the lecture hall, where their younger friend, Jeongin is already waiting for them.

“Hey nerd,” Jisung greets Jeongin, who looks up, and returns easily, “Hey loser!” with a big, bright enthusiastic smile.

Seungmin makes a move to seat between the two of them; he’s used to this level of bickering from them now after over a month of being in this class with the two of them. Given, he’d been pretty surprised upon seeing the younger in class on the first day, he was younger and a year behind him and Jisung after all. “I rearranged my curriculum,” Jeongin had explained, when Seungmin and Jisung had prodded; Jisung has taken to calling him ‘nerd’ ever since, and Jeongin has slowly become bold enough to return the name-calling.

“Oi!” Jisung cackles, playfully giving Jeongin a noogie as if they’re all in a children’s playground instead of at a lecture hall in university. “This brat really thinks he can get away with anything, huh?”

Jeongin just grins in response, hand reaching up to pat his newly ruffled hair back down, and Seungmin laughs, because _yeah,_ Jeongin is definitely the type to get away with anything, as long as he flashes that smile of his. He’s especially heard some of the girls in their year gushing about Jeongin’s baby face - more than that, during their departmental MT at the start of the term, he'd seen a few of their seniors cooing over the boy and pinching his cheeks as if he was the cutest thing they'd ever seen.

Truthfully, Seungmin can’t disagree with them. Jeongin is adorable, and he’s sure that even Jisung agrees - this is how the younger male even gets away with being as brazen as he is with Jisung. It’s funny, in a way, because Seungmin had been witness to Jisung acting exactly like that with _their_ seniors, and getting away for precisely the same reason.

“Babies get away with _everything,”_ Seungmin chimes in, teasing and cooing at Jeongin on purpose because he’s observed Jeongin enough to know that as much as his babyface lets him get away with almost anything, this kind of thing, this kind of _babying him_ actually riles the younger up.

“Sunbaenim, please stop that—” Jeongin winces, just as Seungmin expects him to do, moving away while trying to push Seungmin’s hand off him.

 _“Sunbaenim, please stop that,”_ Jisung mocks with a snigger, from where he sits on Seungmin’s other side. “It’s when Jeongin starts using proper honorifics and formal speak that you know he means business.” He leans forward so he can make a show of giving the younger a wink.

Jeongin just shakes his head and slinks down in his seat, but Seungmin  catches the way the corners of his lips curl up, which only serves to encourage Seungmin to give him another hair ruffle; he would have done it some more if their instructor didn’t walk in right then.

“Saved by the bell,” Jeongin mutters, huffing as he once again tries to pat his hair down.

“By the professor,” Seungmin corrects him under his breath while holding back a snicker. “There’s no bell.”

And beside him Jeongin groans, while on the other, Jisung lets out an amused snort.

  
  


 

— ❦ —

  
  


 

“Hey, Jisungie, are you coming later this afternoon?” Seungmin looks up from his phone as Jisung takes the seat across him from the cafeteria.

“What’s happening this afternoon?” Jisung asks, right before he shoves a large spoonful of rice into his mouth.

“You could eat less like a neanderthal, you know,” Seungmin comments; Jisung, of course, ignores him, and Seungmin continues because he hadn’t really expected a response anyway. “Anyway, didn’t Felix text you? He wants to this cafe that just opened? Apparently someone he knows works there—?”

“Oh!” Jisung perks up, nodding and taking a sip from his soda can, before grinning. “Felix has mentioned that! The place where his new neighbor works at, I think?”

Seungmin shrugs. “I think, yeah, that’s it. I told him I’m fine as long as we can hang out somewhere where I can review for finals, and he said it’s a good place to study— and that he can get us discounts on drinks?” It’s strange how quickly time seems to be passing suddenly - it feels just yesterday that the academic year had restarted, and now the first term of his junior year is about to come to a close - but Seungmin supposes that’s what happens when you have your daily routine down to a pat, and he definitely does, considering all the core majors he’s been juggling this term.

“Discounts!” Jisung lights up even more. “I’m there— oh, wait.” His face falls briefly. ”This afternoon? Uh—” He takes his phone out, and checks something on it. While he’s quickly typing something, Seungmin turns to look at Jeongin, who, by the time it was halfway through spring semester, had somehow become a regular fixture at Seungmin and Jisung’s Monday-Wednesday-Friday lunchtime. On Fridays, they were usually joined by Hyunjin and Felix as well, but it’s a Wednesday, which meant the other two had an extra hour attached to their Computing Management lessons.

“How about you? Want to go, too?” He asks the younger, who is in the middle of highlighting a bunch of photocopied notes in between stuffing his mouth with food.

“Huh?” Jeongin looks up, places his highlighter pen down and makes sure to swallow what he’s chewing before continuing. “You know, hyung, I _do_ have my own friends to hang out with,” he says, casual and just a little bit testy.

From across the table, Jisung snorts, and Seungmin shoots him a withering glare.

“I know you do—” Seungmin starts, apologetic, but then Jeongin suddenly laughs, and he realises he’s been had. “I was just being inclusive!” Seungmin mumbles with a huff.

“I know, hyung, I was just playing—” Jeongin clarifies, even as he continues to chuckle.

“He’s just tired of being babied by you, Seungminnie,” Jisung interjects; childishly, Seungmin sticks his tongue out at him.

“It’s actually not that,” Jeongin counters. “At least this time,” he adds, but his tone is playful, and this time, Seungmin correctly detects his teasing. “I’ll come with you next time, but I have to go look for a part time job this afternoon. I’ve been putting this off since the start of the month, and you all know I’ve lost my extra income ever since that minimart near my place closed and I lost my job.”

“Ah, yeah,” Seungmin nods; he _does_ remember Jeongin vaguely mentioning this predicament of his a couple of weeks ago. “Next time, then. Are you sure _now_ is the time to be looking for work, though? With finals coming?”

Jeongin shrugs. “No, but I’m running low on cash, and I have so much crap I need to pay for— like drafting and model materials.”

“Yeah, I can’t go either,” Jisung chimes in with a sigh as he finally puts his phone away.

“Why, are you going job-hunting too, hyung?” Jeongin asks, and Seungmin can’t help but snort at the absurdity of the question.

He remembers a brief time from their freshman year, when Jisung had attempted to work part time as a delivery boy for a chicken chain restaurant; considering his constant partying back then, it hadn’t really worked out for him in the end.

“Hey! Why’d you react like that?!” Jisung narrows his eyes at Seungmin. “I can hold a job down if I want to!” And then, to Jeongin, he answers, “No, I still have that tutoring gig,” he explains. Before the term hard started, Jisung had put up online advertisements, offering private tutoring to anyone who would bite, and he had actually ended up being hired to help tutor a pair of siblings - one who was in her last year of high school, and was working hard on studying to get into her university of choice, which also happened to be where Seungmin and Jisung attended. Seungmin doesn’t really ask that much about the gig, but Jisung has told him that it was ‘easy money,’ because he only had to show up for a couple of hours a day, four times a week, and their parents were willing to pay him more than enough to fund his (now slightly lessened) partying.

“Oh, right—” Jeongin sighs. “Do they have any friends who want to be tutored, too? I really need some cash.”

“Not sure, but I’ll ask,” Jisung tells him with a supportive grin.

“Wait— you don’t have tutoring sessions today though, right?” Seungmin turns to Jisung; If he remembers correctly, Jisung tutors on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; he kind of hates that he remembers his friend’s schedule, but it’s information that’s lodged itself into his brain, refusing to be easily forgotten.

“Oh, nah— I’m free this afternoon,” Jisung explains, and then a bright, happy grin spreads wide across his lips. “And so is Minho-hyung!”

“Ah,” Seungmin nods slowly; that makes sense. Jisung and Minho had _finally_ started going out officially some time during the last winter break (shortly after the trip to the ski lodge their friend group had taken, along with Minho and Hyunjin's boyfriend, Changbin), but Minho has also graduated since then, and has been busily juggling an entry level job at a large construction firm and studying for his licensure exam so any free time they had that coincided, ended up being automatically reserved for each other. Seungmin sighs. “Felix says Hyunjin can’t make it this afternoon either,” he says, pushing rice around his bowl. He’s happy that his friends have found happiness in their romantic endeavours, and he feels like a pill for feeling anything other than pride and happiness for them, but sometimes there’s traitorous frustration that rumbles at the pit of his stomach. So he misses his friends, _sue him._

“Sorry,” Jisung says, and he actually looks genuinely apologetic. “Tell Felix I’ll definitely go next time! Jeongin will, too!”

“Wait, why am I being dragged along—?” Jeongin gawks at Jisung, confused.

“Because!” Jisung laughs. “The more, the merrier,” he says, not really making any sense, but eliciting laughter from everyone at the table anyway.

  
  
  


 

“So, you’re close with this guy?” Seungmin asks, making sure to check that he has all his valuables with him before pushing his car door open, and stepping out of the vehicle, Felix in tow. The person he’s asking about is the manager of the cafe that they’re parked across the street from, the person that Felix has alluded to knowing well, which is how he’s convinced Seungmin to hang out at this place (despite it being closer to Felix’s apartment, and in effect, further away from Seungmin’s), instead of at the cafe at the student union like they always used to do, before.

Felix hums, and an excitable smile slowly curves across his lips. “We’re friends,” he explains. “He moved in across the hall early last month?” He looks up, briefly lost in his thoughts. “Yeah, start of February!” He nods, grinning as he confirms this fact with himself. “Woojin’s hyung a really nice guy, you’ll like him!”

Seungmin nods and smiles; the truth is that he’d agreed to this because Felix had promised that the coffee was good, and that the cafe offered an atmosphere conducive to studying. He was fine with just these factors, but Felix’s enthusiasm about his friend is admittedly contagious, so Seungmin finds himself looking forward to meeting this Woojin-hyung that Felix has talked up so much.

“Good afternoon, welcome to Coffee One— oh, Felix, hey!” A young man with broad shoulders, a square-ish face, and a friendly smile greets them from behind the counter. “Felix, and friend,” he adds, nodding at Seungmin in acknowledgment. He assumes this is the famed Woojin, and it’s not just the name tag pinned on his shirt that confirms Seungmin’s suspicion, but the excited whoop that Felix lets out as well.

As Seungmin takes in the surroundings, it becomes obvious that it really _has_ just opened. The faint smell of _newness_ mixes in with the stronger smell of freshly ground coffee, and newly baked pastries. Very few other customers are milling around, and considering it should be peak afternoon hours, it could only mean that the place hasn’t really formed a regular following yet. A cardboard sign hangs by the counter, announcing that they’re looking for part-timers, and Seungmin makes a mental note to message Jeongin about this later.

“Hyung, this is Seungmin,” Felix introduces him once they’re both right in front of the counter. Seungmin can’t help but feel like Felix’s eyes are shining brighter than usual as he talks to Woojin; he hums softly, filing this observation away for now. “Seungminnie, this is Woojin-hyung.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Woojin-ssi,” Seungmin says softly, unsure what to make of the man just yet. He does seem pretty welcoming, but then again, it _is_ his job to be.

“Nice to meet you, too, Seungmin-ssi, any friend of Felix’s—!” He chuckles, hearty yet subdued at the same time; Seungmin doesn’t know how he does it, but the contrast does make him interesting, at the very least. “What are you two having?”

“I’ll have a caramel frappuccino, extra whipped cream,” Felix says, and then he looks at Seungmin questioningly, and Seungmin immediately gets the silent ask - Felix wants to know if he’s getting his usual (which, while he won’t admit out loud, it warms his heart that his friend _knows_ how he likes his coffee), and Seungmin gives him a small nod in reply. “Seungminnie will have an iced caramel macchiato, with an upside down shot of espresso!” He naturally puts an arm around Seungmin’s shoulders as he recites the order, and it reminds Seungmin of how far his friendship with Felix has gone.

“You know, I always could tell that you were a tight bundle of energy, but I never realised how much you actually _talk,_ at least not until recently,” Seungmin tells Felix as soon as they claim a table at a corner of the store.

He doesn't really trace his friendship with Hyunjin and Jisung the way he does with Felix, but then again, with Hyunjin he had hit it off almost immediately, while their circumstances had made sure that Seungmin and Jisung would get close, whether Seungmin welcomed it or not. His friendship with Felix had taken its sweet time to grow, but he thinks, here they are now, at a point where Seungmin doesn’t feel like he has to watch whatever comes out of his mouth when around the other.

“What—?” Felix laughs, surprised. “Wait—” He pauses and chews on his bottom lip; this time it’s Seungmin who laughs, because he actually recognises Felix’s expression. It’s the one he tends to wear when he’s translating phrases in his head, to make sure that he understands what he’s being told. “Oh, yeah. Okay— you’re saying I’m talkative?”

Felix blinks, and Seungmin laughs even more. “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” he replies, smiling, with a hint of teasing in his tone.

“I— well. What. Okay? Why are you bringing that up now?!” Felix seems confused and flustered, but he’s also laughing - sometimes, Seungmin wonders how Felix does it. He never seems to take anything the wrong way, which, in a lot of ways is the opposite of Seungmin himself. If someone had told Seungmin, randomly and seemingly out of the blue, that he can be a bit too talkative, he’s roughly 70% sure that he wouldn’t have taken it nicely - which is hypocritical, he’s aware, considering he’s the one who said the words to his friend.

“Just— felt like an appropriate topic,” Seungmin returns, chuckling; then again, the only reason he was bold enough to bring it up to begin with, was because he knows Felix well enough now to be aware that there was no way it was going to be taken in a negative context.

“You’re weird,” Felix shoots backs, and Seungmin supposes that Felix also knows him well enough by now, that he’s able to get away with comments like that.

It’s not that Felix’s penchant for talking _a lot_ is a new observation - even now, Seungmin clearly remembers how much Jisung and Felix had streamlined most of the group conversations the four of them had, Hyunjin included, back during the early days of their friendship. But maybe that was it; for the longest time, Seungmin had associated Felix’s rambling with Jisung’s. In his mind, Jisung led, while Felix followed. The latter’s then-shaky grasp on the Korean language didn’t help either, but these days, he was much more confident in his Korean - which in turn, made Seungmin feel bolder about his own usage of the English language, at least around Felix. (And maybe, _just maybe_ \- even though this is a confession Seungmin will only make mentally - this is part of why Seungmin had even signed up for that English Conversation Club to begin with; he thought it would help improve his grasp on the language, and he’d surprise his friend, but they’d ended up surprising each other instead because life is amusing like that sometimes.)

Truth: Seungmin likes when Felix talks, because now, in the same way that Felix knows his regular coffee order - and knows that Seungmin likes taking the inner corner in booth tables, knows that Seungmin took piano lessons for two years when he was eight, _knows_ the little known fact that Seungmin had his first kiss when he was fourteen and the captain of his middle school baseball team had graduated and left him with nothing save a confession and a sweet, _sweet_ memory - Seungmin also knows that Felix can’t handle spicy food, knows that Felix played football for two years back in Australia before quitting during his last year so he can focus on his studies more. He also knows about Felix’s first kiss, which happened when he was seventeen, and it was with a girl that he took to his school’s homecoming dance. ‘She was cute,’ Felix admitted to Seungmin, ‘but I didn’t really feel anything for her so we didn’t date for long.’

When Felix talks, it makes Seungmin feel like he _knows_ him, except maybe now they’re at a point where Felix doesn’t even really need to say anything for Seungmin to be able to read him. He supposes that this is one of the upsides to having Jisung and Hyunjin busy with other people - he gets to spend more time with Felix, at least. This is what he thinks now anyway, when Woojin comes over and serves them their drinks, together with some pastries.

“Hyung! We didn’t order these—?” Felix asks, gesturing at the food, and his entire face _lights up_ completely, and Seungmin just _knows._ There’s a reason why Felix has been so insistent on visiting this cafe with his friends, and this man was it.

Seungmin narrows his eyes and quietly observes as Felix practically bounces in his seat, as Woojin smiles and tells him it’s on the house, for his ‘favorite customer, and his favorite customer’s friend.’

“Isn’t he nice? And generous,” Felix whispers to Seungmin once Woojin is out of earshot again; he looks really happy, while Seungmin is somewhere halfway between wanting to laugh at Felix’s uncontainable glee, and judging him for the inordinate amount of whipped cream that’s topping his drink.

“He is,” Seungmin agrees, smiling and taking a sip of his own drink before he starts taking out his revision materials. “I can see why you like him,” he adds, biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from flashing a knowing smile, especially when a flush of deep red quickly spreads across his friend’s face.

  
  
  


 

“Hey, Lix—” They’re back in Seungmin’s car after staying at the cafe for almost three hours, and now they’re en route to Felix’s so that he can be dropped off. Seungmin pauses, and exhales sharply; he’d held his breath for a quick second, and he doesn’t know why. “You like Woojin-ssi, don’t you?” He _had_ alluded to this earlier, when they were at the cafe still, but he hadn’t pressed, because he figured this is something Felix would be more comfortable being honest about if it’s just the two of them.

“Huh—?” Even without looking at him, Seungmin can tell that Felix is blushing again, which is more than enough confirmation, really. “Well—” Felix exhales slowly, and then he nods. “It’s just a crush,” he admits; this is something Seungmin has decided he likes about his friend. Felix is always so _honest,_ and while he’s not always quick to volunteer information the way Jisung is, he’s always going to answer truthfully when faced with inquiries.

“That’s… _nice,”_ he murmurs, with a small smile. Seungmin is surprised at how strained he sounds; he’s happy for Felix, of course, but he can’t help but feel the familiar frustration he sometimes feels whenever Jisung or Hyunjin foregoes plans, in favor of spending time with _their_ boyfriends.

It’s strange though, because it’s not as if this is the first time Felix has liked anyone. In fact, Felix had dated a lot, on and off, during the entirety of the previous year. He had gone from Eric, the international student, to Mark, some guy he met at a club while he was out one night with Jisung and Minho, to Julia, a cute girl from Canada, and who was the first indicator, to Seungmin anyway, that Felix liked both guys _and_ girls. And he’d gone on various one-off dates with a handful more others, but he had never gotten serious with any of them. Seungmin knows he shouldn’t be thinking too far ahead _now,_ after all as Felix said, he just has a crush. He can’t help but think that he’ll miss spending time with Felix like this if he ever gets a boyfriend _now_ , and he hates that he feels like this because he shouldn’t be petty, and he should put more faith in his friend - his _friends,_ even, in general.

“It’s just a crush,” Felix repeats, but this time he sounds resigned and somewhat wistful. His tone is very uncharacteristic of him, which has Seungmin casting a vaguely worried glance at him after he pauses at a stoplight.

“Do you want it to be more than a crush?” Seungmin asks softly; he feels his heart skip a beat, and he consciously works on willing away his crappy reservations about his friend’s love life. _Be a better friend, Kim Seungmin,_ he thinks to himself. Felix is a wonderful guy, and he’s sure, that if he _tries_ and he asks the cafe manager out, the only reason Woojin would be able to say no is if he was a complete zero on the Kinsey scale.

To his surprise, Felix shakes his head with a sigh. “I… don’t know, honestly,” he shares quietly, which worries Seungmin even more, because this is a new, more subdued side to Felix that he isn’t sure how to deal with just yet.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Seungmin offers, anxious but genuine. It’s interesting, how every time he thinks he’s gotten to know Felix very well, a new side of him emerges.

Felix smiles, still bright and positive, despite the vague hint of sadness mirrored in his eyes; at least Seungmin thinks he notices that in his expression - the lights have turned green, and he’s shifted his focus back on the road as he drives again.

“I fall in like too easily,” He says. “That’s what my sister tells me, and I guess she’s right. I never thought about it too much, before you know?” He wears a s small smile, and Seungmin thinks yes, _he knows,_ because that’s exactly the kind of thing that Felix wouldn’t put much thought into. It’s not even that it’s a bad thing - Felix doesn’t think about it too much because he’s someone who has an open heart, who believes in the best of people. So of course he falls in _like_ very easily; Seungmin can’t say he relates - after all, he’s the type to pick apart a person’s worst qualities, and the type to push aside romantic fancies as frivolity. And yet, despite this difference, he finds that he _understands_ what Felix means.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, at a loss for actual words of comfort.

“It’s okay,” Felix chirps, and even now there’s a hint of cheer in his tone. “It’s not your fault I’m like this. But I don’t want to worry my sister, you know? And it _does_ get tiring— starting things that fizzle out so quickly… So I’m trying to focus on other things that doesn’t involve… you know. Developing crushes on guys, and trying to date them.”

He chuckles, soft yet genuine. This is hard on him, but the positivity is _real,_ and not just plain lip service.

“Well, there’s always school,” Seungmin offers, and he knows it’s a very lame suggestion, but it’s what he knows. He _likes_ school, and he loves when his hard work pays off - it makes him feel good, and it lets him forget that he hasn’t gone on a single date since stepping foot in university.

“Yeah!” Felix agrees, already sounding much more spirited again. “Besides, I have Hyunjin, and Jisung, and _you.”_ Seungmin smiles because he can’t help but not and agree; it’s sappy, but he’s really grateful for his friends, and he’s happy that Felix gets this. “You know, I like when we hang out, Seungminnie,” Felix continues to ramble, “I always end up doing a lot more work when we hang out.”

“I’m sorry?” Seungmin briefly glances at him sideways, unsure what to make of the statement.

“No— no!” Felix gestures wildly with his hands - that’s another habit he has that Seungmin has noticed, Felix tends to be physically expressive when he’s excited, or nervous, or afraid that he might have offended anyone. “It’s a good thing,” he goes on to assure Seungmin. “I should be doing work, anyway. We had a surprise exercise for Materials Management the other day, and I got really high marks because I ended up reviewing my notes on that class when you were doing your problem set at the library last week.”

“Well, you’re welcome?” Seungmin offers, before a small frown graces his features. “Wait— do you get bored when you’re with me?” He doesn’t think that’s what Felix actually _means_ to say, but it feels implied anyway, even if accidental.

“Hmm? What— no! I’m grateful— Seungmin!” Felix laughs, but he sounds more nervous now. “No, it’s a good thing, really. I like being productive with you.”

“That still makes it sound like…” Seungmin sighs, remembering how much Jisung has teased him before for being such a nerd who has nothing else going on in his life. He’s never really taken much offense in it, especially not when Jisung says it outright, but for some reason, Felix making heedless implications hurts more.

“No— you make it fun—!” Felix breath audibly hitches, and an unmistakable frown takes over his expression. “I— I like hanging out with you, Seungmin. It’s fun, and when you help me study, it actually makes me feel good? It makes me feel less dumb than I do, usually.”

“Lix, you aren’t dumb,” Seungmin assures him; just like that he has switched from nursing his own petty insecurities, to trying to lift Felix’s spirits up. He’s decided just now - he hates it when Felix looks down on himself - when Felix feels down _in general,_ because his friend deserves the happiness he’s always trying to project onto others.

“I know! That’s how I feel when you help me out,” Felix points out with a chuckle. “It’s always fun with you, Seungmin, even when we’re just studying. That’s what I was trying to say— that’s what I’m trying to thank you for.”

Seungmin laughs; when Felix reaches over to squeeze his arm, he really does start feeling better.

“Hey, Felix—?” He starts again just as he’s making the turn at the corner of Felix’s street.

“Hmm?”

“Let’s do something fun tomorrow,” he muses, slowing the car down in front of Felix’s apartment building. “And I don’t mean fun _studying,”_ he clarifies with a chuckle. “Let’s do something fun and _new.”_

“Huh?” Felix turns his head to face him, taking a couple of seconds before a big, bright smile brightens up his face. “Okay, call!”

  
  


 

— ❦ —

  
  


 

 **ddaengmin** (08:15 PM):   
hey jisung u here?

 **meotj1** (08:17 PM):   
🙋♂️

 **ddaengmin** (08:18 PM):   
ok so i was at coffee one w felix earlier   
it was jeongin’s shift   
and lix was talking abt how he’s been living here   
for 3 years   
and he’s only ever been in seoul

 **meotj1** (08:20 PM):   
lol well he’s been to incheon

 **ddaengmin** (08:20 PM):   
yea to the airport   
that doesn’t count!   
🙄

 **meotj1** (08:21 PM):   
🤪

 **ddaengmin** (08:21 PM):   
anyway jeongin mentioned going home for the holidays

 **meotj1** (08:23 PM):   
that’s alr this weekend right?   
18th to 22nd?

 **ddaengmin** (08:23 PM):   
yeah

 **meotj1** (08:24 PM):   
w8 is this abt ur bday?   
lix and i alr gave u our gift last saturday!   
man we partied hard   
i think i still have a hangover

 **ddaengmin** (08:26 PM):   
ok one, it’s not so will u PLS let me finish wat im saying now   
and two, maybe u should have considered the after effects of drinking too much

 **meotj1** (08:27 PM): **  
** it was a triple bday celebration!  
and i was one of the celebrants!  
i haven’t drank that much in months!  
it was well deserved!  
but ok continue

 **ddaengmin** (08:30 PM):   
i managed just fine not drinking but ok   
anyway, so lix was saying that he’s hardly ever been out of seoul   
and one thing led to another

 **meotj1** (08:32 PM):   
so whats thing 1 and 2?

 **ddaengmin** (08:32 PM):   
huh?

 **meotj1** (08:33 PM):   
ㅋㅋㅋㅋ nvm   
u were saying?

 **ddaengmin** (08:34 PM):   
jeongin said w’r welcome to tag along to busan for the holidays   
u up for it?   
hyunjin says he can’t bc he has family stuff alr planned   
but ur family isn’t here and lix is excited!

 **meotj1** (08:35 PM):   
oh   
is it all five days?

 **ddaengmin** (08:36 PM):   
no, we leave sunday, 19th   
then come back on the 21st

 **meotj1** (08:38 PM):   
idk.. i sort of alr have plans 😧

 **ddaengmin** (08:45 PM):   
let me guess   
with minho-hyung, am i right?

 **meotj1** (08:46 PM):   
hehe, yeah!   
he knew i had nothing to do over the holidays   
so he invited me to his parents’   
he’s going to introduce me to his cats and all 😊

 **ddaengmin** (08:50 PM):   
lol   
should’ve figured u alr made plans w him   
as always   
whatever have fun jisung

_ddaengmin is now offline._

**meotj1** (08:52 PM):   
w8 wat   
wat’s that supposed to mean?!   
kim seungmin?!?!

  
  
  
  


 

The days leading up to the Busan trip are awkward, to say the least. Things between Seungmin and Jisung get pretty icy, and even though they continue to attend the same classes - continue to sit _next to each other_ in said classes, even, they stop directly acknowledging each other’s presence.

Friday afternoon, Hyunjin talks to Seungmin, imploring him to try and patch things up with Jisung.

“Come on, Minnie,” he says, worry and concern drawn all over his features. “A five day weekend starts tomorrow, and it'd be bad form to start the holiday at odds with one of your best friends, don't you think?” Hyunjin is practically _begging_ in the tone of his voice, and Seungmin knows that he's feeling really bad about the entire situation - he's always talked about how happy he is that he has him, and Jisung, and Felix, and he’s always the first one to hype their friendship, and call.them all his _best_ friends, and so, for a moment, Seungmin almost relents as he considers dropping the cold shoulder treatment.

But then Hyunjin messages Jisung, inviting him to dinner out with all four of them, and the latter turns the invitation down so quickly that Seungmin is immediately reminded why he's pissed off at Jisung to begin with.

“I’m not gonna make an effort if he isn't,” Seungmin practically spits out, and even though Hyunjin appears quite pained by his tone, Seungmin just shakes his head firmly - he _knows_ that a part of his own anger stems from complete pettiness, but Jisung has been acting completely unbothered over the last couple of days, and it's a huge blow to Seungmin’s pride. If his friend can't be bothered to try and make it up to him, then why should he care?

Yet, despite how  he tries to convince himself of this, up until Sunday morning, after he's boarded the KTX to Busan with Felix and Jeongin, he keeps checking his phone for messages from Jisung, anyway, a small part of him hoping that he'll message first, even if just to wish him and Felix a safe trip, and happy holidays.

Instead, he gets radio silence in their group chat, and the only ‘have fun!’ he gets is, predictably, from Hyunjin.

“Hey, Earth to Seungmin,” Felix calls to him, effectively snapping him out of his reverie. “Still have a lot on your mind?”

Seungmin shrugs, playing it cool and not about to admit the disappointment, but he also fumbles a bit when he shoves his phone back into his pocket. There’s a flash of recognition in Felix’s eyes, as if he could tell what Seungmin had just been doing, but he forces a smile on, and hopes that it’s enough to distract his friend. “Were _you_ saying something?”

“Oh— yeah!” Felix laughs. “Was saying that I don’t want to end up being attacked by zombies on this trip.”

The little joke actually makes Seungmin genuinely laugh, and he appreciates Felix for it, and when Felix’s tugs at his hand with his own tiny one  (“Hold me, I’m scared,” he says playfully), it’s easier to pretend not to notice that Felix didn’t just do what he did because he’s trying to comfort Seungmin in his own way.

He isn’t thinking much about it when he squeezes Felix’s hand as silent appreciation at the gesture, but when Felix _beams_ at him in response, there’s a split seconds when he feels something flutter in his chest and he doesn’t know what to make of it.

“Let's have a great time these next few days!” Felix announces, a little too loudly.

And from the seat across them, Jeongin is giving them both strange looks, but as Felix turns and _deliberately_ makes funny faces at their younger companion, Seungmin simply sinks in his seat, grateful that he has Felix and his silent support for this trip.

  
  
  


 

“Seungminnie, are you awake—?” Felix asks, his voice soft and low because he doesn’t want to wake up a sleeping Jeongin.

It’s already their second night in Busan, and the two of them are sharing the bottom bunk in Jeongin's childhood bedroom. Apparently, Jeongin usually shares it with his younger brother, but since he had guests, the youngest Yang boy has temporarily set himself up in their oldest brother's room across the hall.

Their first day there, Jeongin had rushed them around the city to buy souvenirs for everyone back home, because a lot of stores were going to be closed for the next couple of days due to the holidays.

That day, however, their second one, had been spent entirely with Jeongin's family, helping out with what Jeongin called their ‘regular Chuseok fanfare.’ In the morning, Felix had insisted on helping out in the kitchen, even; Jeongin’s mother initially insisted that it was unnecessary since they were guests, but she’d eventually given in due to Felix’s overeager insistence, which, of course was the same thing that had driven Seungmin to volunteer his help as well. Lunch was amazing, of course, and Felix couldn’t keep himself from repeatedly showering the food with compliments, to the point that Jeongin had to cut in and complain because, in his words, ‘it’s too much, you’re making me and my brothers sound ungrateful!’ Felix had looked nervously stricken for a moment, thinking he had genuinely offended, but then Jeongin’s father had cracked up and the entire party followed suit.

In the afternoon, they’d visited a temple to pay respects to Jeongin's family ancestors; the last time Seungmin did this with his family was when he was ten or eleven, when his grandparents were still alive - these days Chuseok holidays just meant free vacation days for his family, and he's forgotten how much work is put into the traditions. Felix's pure, unaldurated enjoyment and fascination was more than enough to remind him that it could be fun too, as well, and so far this whole trip has been really enjoyable and completely worth the last minute planning.

“Hmm—” Seungmin hums in response; Felix’s question was rhetorical anyway - Seungmin has been tossing and turning for the last few minutes, unable to sleep despite the fatigue he feels. Squeezing in a twin-sized bunk bed with your fully grown friend isn’t exactly the most comfortable sleeping situation, especially for Seungmin who tends to be very particular with his sleeping quarters. He can’t bring himself to complain, of course, since Jeongin and his family have done nothing but try to make them feel as welcome as possible. “Yeah, I am— sorry, you can’t sleep because of me?” He asks, shifting and turning so that he’s facing Felix, only to be surprised at how close their faces are to each other. “Oh, um, sorry—” he mumbles, immediately moving away to allow more space between them.

“It’s okay—!” Felix assures him, and even though it’s dark and it’s hard to properly make out his expression, Seungmin can tell he’s smiling.

It isn’t as if this is the first time they’ve been in such close proximity - they’ve slept next to each other countless times before, mostly when they all crash at Jisung’s tiny studio apartment - so Seungmin doesn’t know what it is about this time; maybe it’s because they’re horizontal on a bed together, just the two of them, or maybe it’s because it’s dark and Felix appears extra soft with Seungmin being only able to make out the contours of his face thanks to the faint moonlight shining through Jeongin’s window blinds - or maybe it’s something else entirely, but whatever it is, it has rendered Seungmin nervous. His heartbeat has doubled in speed, and it’s ringing loudly in his ears, and altogether, it has him struggling to move further away.

“—min!” Felix hisses, one arm suddenly circling around Seungmin’s waist and pulling closer.

“What—” Surprised, his first instinct is to move his hands, pressing them against Felix’s chest as if to push him away.

“You were about to fall off the edge,” Felix explains, his hold immediately loosening, as he scuttles further away, until his back is pressed against the wall. “Sorry, was I crowding you?”

He isn’t; the space is small which Seungmin is unused to, but it fits the two of them just fine, so Seungmin quietly shakes his his head. Under his fingertips, he feels the faint thump, thump, _thumping_ of Felix’s heartbeat which prompts him to immediately pull his hands away. Not for the first time in two days, he’s reminded of the faint fluttering in his chest he’d felt when Felix had held his hand on the train ride to Busan.

“No,” he whispers, shifting around and just rigidly lying on his back so he doesn’t have to be  facing his friend. “Sorry, I’m just being antsy.”

“Ah—” Felix nods, and chuckles lowly. “Today was really nice,” he adds, sounding more relaxed now, because as usual he’s taken and accepted Seungmin’s simple assurances. He starts tiredly, but enthusiastically recounting something that happened from earlier that day, “... it was my first time going to temple like that—” and Seungmin just lets him, quietly humming in response every now and then to let Felix know he’s still listening.

Seungmin can tell that Felix is still facing him, and he can do this because he can feel the warmth of Felix’s breath gently grazing his neck. He closes his eyes - half of what Felix is saying is starting to be lost on him, but there’s something calming about the way he’s softly, but excitedly droning on with his silly commentary about that day’s events. The way he keeps switching between Korean and English should probably be more awkward, but Seungmin is too used to it by now.

He thinks about how this is precisely how the previous night went on as well, how he’d fallen asleep to the velvety warmth of Felix’s voice talking in his ear, about how they’d woken up and Felix had teased him about falling asleep on him, and Seungmin had apologised profusely, only for his friend to laugh playfully, assuring him that it was all just harmless poking fun.

Normally, this kind of thing would tick him off, but—

Not for the first time in two days, the faint fluttering in his chest get stronger.

“Seungminnie—” Felix whispers, and this time he’s once again moved closer to Seungmin’s ear. “Did you fall asleep on me again?”

Seungmin hums. “Sorry, I’m dozing off—” he admits, trying to be more subtle when he wriggles away from Felix this time. He feels Felix sighing against his shoulder, before moving away.

“It’s okay,” he says softly. “Good night, Seungminnie,” he adds, and even though his body is a good couple of inches away from Seungmin now, his arm is still casually slung across Seungmin’s torso, and it’s both comforting and nerve wracking at once.

And it’s then that Seungmin thinks, that okay maybe he actually has an idea as to why he’s being like this.

  
  
  


It’s strange - Seungmin always thought that he was pretty hyper aware of every single moment that’s allowed his friendship with Felix to slowly bloom. From that first time, at the end of their freshmen year, and he’d run across Felix in that small convenience store only to end up having breakfast with him and his sister, to just last week, when Seungmin was driving Felix home after an afternoon at Woojin’s cafe, and Felix started sharing an anecdote about how he asked his date to his high school formal to go with him - Seungmin doesn’t even remember what brought the topic on, he just remembers how animated Felix was, hands wildly gesturing as he recounts his story.

He remembers telling Felix, ‘let’s do something fun,’ that one early evening near the start of the school year - and he remembers thinking about how that one simple statement had sparked a series of weekends just doing ‘something fun’ with his friend, even if they were just simple things like trying the new dessert place near the university, or spending an afternoon at the batting cage Seungmin used to frequent when he was in high school.

And yet, for some reason, now, he can’t pinpoint how and when that dynamic transformed to allow room for feelings that were possibly, maybe, _likely_ beyond simple friendship. All he knows is that a few days away with Felix - and it isn’t even as if they’ve been alone, because Jeongin and his family have been with them the entire time - and suddenly there’s a low rumbling at the pit of his stomach whenever Felix is discussing something with him, and a distracting fluttering in his chest whenever Felix is right next to him.

It feels like an overload of confusion, but at the same time, it _really doesn’t._

He wonders if the shift happened some time during the last year, and if it was because the two of them had unwittingly started spending most of their free time together, what with Hyunjin and Jisung mostly busy with their significant others (and, okay, maybe a few other commitments, Seungmin would grudgingly admit, like Jisung’s tutoring gig, and Hyunjin’s student organization activities). Somewhere along the last several months, he stopped mentally noting every single development of his friendship with Felix, and he started to just enjoy his friend - except apparently, he’s missed _a lot_ of development because of it.

It’s a whole lot of thinking, and wondering all at once and—

“Too bad Hyunjin and Jisung couldn’t come with us, huh?” Felix says, his words piercing right through Seungmin’s jumbled thoughts.

It’s the morning of their last day in Busan, and they’ve made a quick detour to the beach before setting off and catching their afternoon train back to Seoul. Felix simply wanted the experience of having gone to a famous Busan beach, even if only to inhale sweet sea air, and bury his toes in the sand. Seungmin, on the other hand, easily caved in, under the pretense of wanting to take pictures of the ocean view.

“Huh?” He turns to face Felix.

The soft ocean breeze is gently blowing against their faces, ruffling Felix’s hair, while the sun casts pretty shadows against his features, highlighting his freckles in a lovely manner.

Seungmin’s first thought is, _he’s beautiful,_ immediately followed by _this is annoying,_ because Felix is suddenly very distracting, and he doesn’t know what to do about it.

It’s not like anything has changed, so he doesn’t know why he needs to figure this all out at once. This is not the first time that Seungmin has had a crush, and he doubts it will be the last. He’s always managed to push the feelings back, ignoring them, until they’re genuinely reduced to nothing.

“I said— it’s too bad Hyunjin and Jisung couldn’t come with us,” Felix repeats, his tone softer now.

“Yeah, well,” Seungmin shrugs, trying to appear as calm and nonchalant as he can. “If they were here then we’d have been a far bigger nuisance to Jeongin’s family,” he adds, a lame attempt at playfully joking around.

“You—” Felix chuckles, but then his breath hitches, and Seungmin’s resolve to push away any feelings beyond friendship is replaced by an overwhelming urge to take Felix’s hand, and assure him that it’s okay to say whatever it is that’s on his mind. “You and Jisung,” Felix tries again, smiling gently, and Seungmin hates that his heart _soars._ “Things will be okay, yeah?”

“Yeah—” Seungmin nods and sighs; he hasn’t really thought about the petty squabble he had started between him and Jisung for days, and now that Felix has reminded him about it, he finds that he doesn’t feel that strongly about it anymore. Like the last few days has cleansed him of bitterness - or maybe it’s just that he’s now too focused on trying to figure out other things entirely. “I’ll fix it when we get back.”

Felix laughs, and suddenly his arm is sliding around Seungmin and the latter is being pulled into a warm hug. “Thank you for spending the holidays with me, Seungminnie,” Felix chirps, happy but obviously unable to contain his happiness as he gives Seungmin a squeeze.

He’s gone completely off-tangent again, but Seungmin is too busy trying _not_ to blush, as he casually returns the hug with one arm.

“You’re welcome,” he mumbles, so softly he’s barely audible.

And then it dawns on him - maybe it’s better if he stops thinking too much about the _whens_ and the _hows_ of his newly discovered feelings, and maybe it’s for the best if he takes his time figuring _what_ to do about them instead.

  
  
  


 

 **ddaengmin** (11:20 AM):   
r u home?

 **meotj1** (11:24 AM):   
????

 **ddaengmin** (11:25 AM):   
i’m outside ur apt bldg   
can u come out if u’re home?

 

It doesn’t take five minutes after his last message gets marked as read, that Seungmin spots Jisung exiting the building and jogging towards his direction. He stops in front of Seungmin’s car, leaning in when the latter rolls the passenger window down.

“You’re talking to me now?” Jisung asks, and in his tone is a mixture of uncertainty and hope.

Seungmin rolls his eyes, and leans over so he can push the door open, and then he gestures for Jisung to get in. His friend looks rather tentative at first, but Seungmin simply locks eyes with him silently. When Jisung still doesn’t budge, Seungmin lets out a resigned sigh, and, “I got you souvenirs from Busan, so get in or I’m giving Hyunjin your share, too.”

This time, it barely takes Jisung a heartbeat, before he’s quickly scrambling to get in. “Freebies!” He declares a bit too loudly, which actually draws a mild chuckle out of Seungmin.

He sighs and reaches for a paper bag in the back seat, and the he proceeds to hand it over to Jisung who inspects the contents as soon as he receives it. “Dried fish—” he comments with a laugh. “Of course— oh! And—” he pulls out a bottle, and looks up at Seungmin questioningly. “Raspberry wine?”

“Yeah,” Seungmin snorts, fidgeting in his seat because even though he and Jisung are interacting like everything’s fine, he knows there’s something that he still needs to say. “You haven’t been drinking a lot lately,” is what he says instead, anyway, his tone teasing but fond. “And I figured, maybe you can at least _try_ getting drunk in a more cultured manner.”

“Cultured?” Jisung scoffs. “What am I— bacteria?!”

Seungmin can only stare at him, unsure whether he wants to laugh or cry at the very lame joke; in the end, he can only let out a frustrated groan. “Why are you making this so hard?!”

“Making what hard?!”

Seungmin sighs; he’s half-tempted to just throw Jisung out of his car and drive off. They’re talking again, which means by the time they go back to school, everything will be back to normal, and he can forego a formal apology if he wants to.

And he _really_ wants to - except, he also knows that Jisung deserves better. The last time they had a similar fight, Jisung had apologised first even though Seungmin had been in the wrong, and he refuses to be cowardly like that again.

 _“I’msorryJisungie,”_ he blurts out, all in one breath.

Jisung, who had been snickering playfully, stops short, and blinks at him. “What was that?” He pauses, and waits for Seungmin to repeat the words, but before Seungmin can gather enough courage to repeat the words, Jisung starts snickering again. “Did you— Did the Great Kim Seungmin actually _apologise_ to me?”

“Well, if you’re gonna be like that, then never mind—” Seungmin mumbles, turning away and leaning back in his seat. His hands are curled into fists, and his mouth is turned downwards into a frown.

“I’m not being anything,” Jisung says, lightly tugging at the sleeve of Seungmin’s shirt. “Thanks for the souvenirs, Seungminnie— and,” he smiles, “Happy birthday.”

Seungmin allows himself to relax at the greeting, and when he turns to look at Jisung, there’s a hint of a smile on his lips again. “Thanks,” he says. “And— I really am sorry. I guess I just got frustrated that the four of us never get to hang out as much as we used to, but the Busan trip was a last minute thing, anyway, so it was understandable you already had plans.”

“It’s okay,” Jisung assures him, his usual easy grin adorning his lips. “Apology accepted, because you got me wine and dried fish,” he adds jokingly. “And— speaking of which, you and Felix had a great time, didn’t you?”

“Ah—!” Seungmin nods; for some reason his cheeks feel warm, and he just _prays_ that Jisung doesn’t notice. “It was great— Jeongin’s family were great, and Felix was so excited the entire time— I guess because it was his first time experiencing all of it.”

“Yeah— he was updating me all about it the entire time,” Jisung shares, and for some reason, this makes Seungmin deflate. Faint disappointment settles in his gut, because he’d thought that the trip was something special and shared between him and Felix, which is silly, because they’d wanted both Hyunjin _and_ Jisung there, not to mention Jeongin and his family were their companions the entire time.

“Was he?”

“Mhm,” Jisung nods, and if he noticed the weird lilt in Seungmin’s voice, he doesn’t show it. “The two of you have been getting very close, huh?”

“Yeah—?” Seungmin shrugs. “I guess?” He’s trying too hard to sound casual and unaffected, but his voice just ends up going up an octave higher, which earns him a weird look from Jisung. “What?”

“Nothing~” Jisung sing-songs, which earns _him_ an annoyed look from Seungmin. “Nothing, I swear!” He repeats with a laugh that says it’s definitely _not_ nothing. “Just— you and him are getting closer. Without me and Hyunjin.”

“Well, yeah. Because you’ve both been _busy,”_ Seungmin practically hisses this time, his forced casual demeanor from earlier completely thrown out the window.

“Felix is a very sweet guy,” Jisung points out, choosing to ignore Seungmin’s pointed comment.

“Yeah, I know, and—?!” Seungmin winces. “Your point?”

“Does that do anything for you?”

“What—?!”

Jisung laughs, loud and hearty. “Nothing. I was just stating facts,” he comments. “Happy birthday again, Seungminnie!”

Seungmin groans. “You’re so weird.”

“You love me anyway,” Jisung shoots back, grinning as he playfully punches Seungmin’s arm.

“Love is pushing it a little,” Seungmin retorts, but this time his words are without venom, and when Jisung laughs some more, he gives in and joins his friend.

“Hey Seungmin?” Jisung calls to him, once their joint laughter trails off into silence.

“Hm?”

“At the end of the term,” Jisung starts, fingers tapping against his thigh; he looks up and flashes a smile at Seungmin. “Let’s do something. Just you, me, Hyunjin and Felix. No boyfriends this time, I promise.”

Seungmin glances at him, meeting his gaze in the process, and then he lets out yet another sigh. “You know, I really don’t mind that you guys spend time with your boyfriends, right? And I like Minho-hyung. He’s funny, and he’s a good influence on you.”

“A good influence, right—” Jisung snorts, but there’s a fond smile on his face, and how can Seungmin begrudge his friend the happiness that even just the _thought_ of his boyfriend brings him? “Still,” Jisung continues. “We should do something— let’s go to a ski lodge again or something. You’re not the only one who misses when it was just the four of us, you know?”

Seungmin’s breath hitches - this is how he knows that Jisung gets it, how he knows that Jisung actually _understands_ his petty reasoning for starting their silly fight. His friend has all the right in the world to tell him off, but here he is, extending an olive branch instead.

“Thank you, Jisungie,” he mumbles, embarrassed, but grateful. “Let’s plan something after finals, then.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ ☆ ] So! There you go!! Do Seungmin's feelings seem like they're moving at a snail's pace? Ha, to be fair isn't one of his nicknames 'snail' anyway... ha... ha... haha..... But truly, I hope you enjoyed this part, and as usual, please feel free to leave feedback!
> 
> [ ☆ ] When I was writing this, I went and looked up examples of the kind of student clubs and organizations some universities in Seoul have, and one school really does have something called English Conversation Club?? And I thought it would be something that could help move the plot along, so here you go, haha.
> 
> [ ☆ ] Also, I'm 2/3 done with the last chapter (!!!) so barring any external real life surprises, I shouldn't take as long to post that one. I really want to be done with this anyway. ;;;


	4. iv: but we got everything we need

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> seungmin's final year of university sees a slot of subtle shifts and changes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ ☆ ] Here it is, the last installment, finally. ♥
> 
> [ ☆ ] I should have probably mentioned this before, but whenever huge chunks of phrases/sentences Felix is saying are in italics, then he’s saying them in English.

 

❦

 

 

 _Don't be afraid to dive_  
_Be afraid that you didn't try_  
_These moments remind us why_ _  
We're here, we're so alive_

“Wasted Nights,” ONE OK ROCK

  
  


 

**SWAGBR00z** [ 4 _members,_ 2 _online_ ]

 **ddaengmin** (11:43 AM):  
anyone free 4 lunch?  
i’ll b at the engineering cafeteria

 **hwhj2000** (11:50 AM):  
i have a grp meeting in ten  
sry seungminnie  
i think lix is free but  
he had a mtg w his adviser half an hr ago  
idk if that’s done with?  
dont u usually have lunch w ji on wednesdays?

 **ddaengmin** (11:51 AM):  
yea but he also has mtg w his adviser  
and lunch time’s his only free time

 **hwhj2000** (11:55 AM):  
sry minnie :(  
but let’s all try for dinner this friday

 **ddaengmin** (11:56 AM):  
i have a group mtg then but  
late dinner?

 **hwhj2000** (11:59 AM):  
let’s plan when the other 2 r here  
gotta go 4 now  
my groupm8s r here  
ttyl!

 

 

When their last year (barring unforeseen circumstances, _fingers crossed)_ kicks off, it gets quite hectic faster than Seungmin had anticipated. If he thought he and his friends already had little to no time to spend together, it gets even worse. Even he and Jisung don’t see as much of each other these days, especially outside of class. The other boy had taken in two new tutoring clients - which Seungmin was skeptical about, especially since their final year meant a new truckload of responsibilities which included working on their senior thesis, and eventually, a summer internship.

“I can do this,” Jisung had insisted. “I’m the king of multi-tasking!”

It was annoyingly true - Jisung was the type to thrive when he had his plate full, but at the same time, Seungmin didn’t like the idea that he was spreading himself too thin. They almost had an argument about it, too, which had ended in the two of them seriously discussing not pairing up for their undergraduate thesis. “We have different study habits,” Jisung points out, and Seungmin, flashing back to that time when he had unthinkingly blamed his less-than-stellar midterm grades on him, had to agree. Eventually, Jisung had ended up partnered with Yeji, with whom they regularly had study groups with throughout their years in university, while Seungmin chose to work on his own. Admittedly, it was a little weird - his chat window with Jisung was always blowing up, so it isn’t as if his friend was really giving him room to actually miss him, but at the same time, he was so used to working on _everything_ with Jisung that it took some time to get used to this new normal between them.

Hyunjin, too, he keeps in constant contact with through instant messaging, but since he has as many responsibilities and engagements with Jisung, and they have zero classes together, he’s also the one Seungmin sees the least in person.

He and Felix still had English Conversation Club together, but it’s a group that barely met anyway, and even when it did, neither of them really showed up regularly. Still, he ends up being the that Seungmin sees a lot of, because, much like most of the previous year, the two of them have continued to make a habit out of hanging out at Coffee One after school. Four out of five days of the week, one can usually find the two of them at a table at the far corner of the store, their respective laptops, books and other revision materials spread out across them, both of them with their heads down as they focused on their school work.

Jisung had commented on it again, once, “You _really_ have been getting _closer_ with Felix.” Seungmin is pretty sure that the repetition of this observation is Jisung trying to imply something, but just like before, he brushes it off.

Whatever feelings had surfaced during last year’s holidays, have been pushed back down once more. He doesn’t have time for them, and four out of five days a week, Felix was _still_ making googly eyes at Woojin, which did nothing but help enable Seungmin’s conscious attempt at ignoring things like the fluttering in his chest whenever Felix’s arm brushes against his own when they share a slice of cake, and the easy tugging at the corners of his lips whenever Felix’s face would light up every time he finishes his workbook problem sets.

“Hey, hyung, you eating alone today?”

Seungmin is pulled out of his thoughts by a familiar tone, and by the time he looks up, Jeongin is already pulling out the chair across his, and setting his tray of food down on the table.

“Don’t you have Construction Engineering right now?” Seungmin asks in between taking a bite of his meal. Jeongin gives him a weird look, probably confused as to why and how Seungmin knows his schedule as well as he does, but Seungmin just shrugs in response. “My mind retains this type of information easily, okay?” He explains unnecessarily.

Jeongin laughs, possibly at Seungmin’s needlessly defensive remark. “The professor didn’t turn up, and I was starving,” he finally explains. “Where are the other hyungs— oh! Your boyfriend’s here.”

Mouth full with food, all Seungmin can do is react silently at Jeongin’s words, eyes widening in confusion; and then he follows Jeongin’s gaze until they land on Felix, and he _almost_ chokes on his food. “What—” He immediately reaches for his glass, gulping down water in an attempt to help push the food down, except he just ends up sputtering some more, much to Jeongin’s very obvious enjoyment.

“I only said that to get a reaction out of you,” Jeongin tells him, laughing as he waves Felix over. “And it was kind of worth it.”

“Shut—” Seungmin hisses, still coughing a bit as he tries to clear his throat; he keeps glaring at Jeongin, who keeps a disaffected smile on his face.

“Hey guys,” Felix greets them, smiling and immediately taking the free seat next to Seungmin once he reaches them. “Are you okay?” He asks, hand already reaching over to gently rub Seungmin’s back.

“Yeah,” Seungmin mumbles, tipping his water bottle up against his lips once again, careful as he takes in another gulp of water. He’s glad that his coughing mishap is probably enough explanation for the red that’s likely coloring his cheeks. “Food just went down funny. Why are you here—? I thought Hyunjin said you had a meeting with your adviser?”

“Yeah, but I finished, and from the conversation in the group I thought you were eating alone so I hurried here,” Felix explains, smiling even as his eyes curiously land on Jeongin.

“Cancelled class,” Jeongin answers simply, waving his hand. “Don’t mind me.”

Felix’s laughter sounds tentative, as if confused by Jeongin’s blunt reaction, but whatever hesitation there is, vanishes so quickly that Seungmin assumes he must have imagined it. “Ah, well, glad Seungmin didn’t have to eat alone after all,” he comments, turning to face Seungmin with his usual earnest smile. “Oh, and— my 4 o’clock class is cancelled so you don’t have to wait until 5 for me this afternoon,” he says, his smile growing like he’s so happy to be sharing this news. Seungmin’s Mondays and Wednesdays ended at four, but since Felix had a laboratory class until half past five, he always waited for him so they can drive together - usually, with Jeongin - to Coffee One.

“Oh, okay— meet me at the Engineering parking lot at four, then?” His voice still a bit hoarse from his little choking mishap earlier.

“Okay,” Felix says, patting Seungmin’s back one last time, before standing again. “Thanks! I’m gonna go get myself something to eat—” He glances down at Seungmin and points at his now empty water bottle. “You want more water, Seungminnie?”

“Um—” Seungmin shoves a spoonful of rice into his mouth, before nodding wordlessly in response.

“Hyung,” Jeongin starts, as soon as Felix is safely out of earshot. “Are you okay there?” It’s a question that’s supposed to show concern, but the tone that Jeongin uses is teasing, and almost smug.

“Yes??” Seungmin glowers, placing his utensils down and making sure to swallow properly before continuing. “Stop being a brat or I won’t give _you_ a ride to Coffee One this afternoon.”

Jeongin laughs, even louder this time. “I don’t have a shift this afternoon, hyung— I did a double last weekend because Jiheon asked to switch this week. So—” He grins, and wags his eyebrows at Seungmin. “You can have Felix-hyung all to yourself this afternoon.”

Seungmin winces, and then he rolls his eyes. “What are you even trying to imply?”

“I mean—” Jeongin grins and shrugs. “If you don’t want to talk about what I’m trying to imply, then we don’t have to.”

“Whatever,” Seungmin grumbles, looking down at his food, just mixing the rice because he _definitely_ doesn’t want to.

 _Whatever,_ he thinks, because it’s not like he actually _will_ have Felix to himself. Woojin is _always_ at the cafe, after all. _Whatever,_ he thinks, because it’s not as if he should _care._

  
  


 

“No Jeongin?” Felix asks when he slides into the passenger seat, and Seungmin almost immediately starts the engine.

“He said he doesn’t have work today,” Seungmin explains, shrugging as he focuses on pulling out of his parking space.

“Oh—” Felix nods, and for a brief moment, from the corner of his vision, Seungmin thinks he notices the corners of Felix’s lips turn up higher. Which doesn’t make sense, so he shakes it off, and just focuses on the road as he drives.

“Hey, how was your meeting with your adviser earlier, by the way?” He asks as they exit the university gates. Seungmin had meant to ask about this earlier, because Hyunjin wasn’t in the meeting with Felix, and as far as he knows, unlike him and Jisung, the two of them have decided to work on their thesis together. Jeongin had distracted him from bringing it up earlier during lunch, though, and he only just remembered his curiosity now.

“Ah, that…” Felix’s expression falls, and he trails off. A quick sideways glance at him tells Seungmin that he’s wearing that expression he tends to have when he’s trying to figure out how to say what he wants to say - Felix hasn’t really worn that expression with him for a long while, because the Australian has long ago found that Seungmin was completely fine with him just switching to English whenever he needed or wanted to. Clearly, it isn’t a language issue that Felix is facing now.

“Is everything okay?” Seungmin’s tone softens, and when he has to stop for a red light, he makes a point of turning to look at the other male, his expression filled with concern. Felix grins at him, and reaches over to squeeze Seungmin’s arm, which feels wrong because even though he doesn’t know what it is that’s bothering his friend just yet, Seungmin wants to be there _for_ Felix, instead of the latter needing to comfort _him_ because of his concern.

“Everything’s fine,” Felix tells him, sitting up properly and smiling at Seungmin. “For now, anyway,” he appends with a sigh. “Our adviser also teaches our Financial Engineering class, which I’m kinda bombing at the moment— so Professor Shin wants me to get my midterm grades above average, or she won’t write me a referral for a summer internship.”

“What—?!” Seungmin frowns, almost missing the fact that the light has turned green much to the chagrin of the driver of the car behind them, who proceeds to honk at him loudly. “That’s not fair!”

Felix hums. “I guess she just wants the best for me,” he reasons, clearly still trying to put a positive spin on things. “If I work harder, I get my grades up, and she helps me get an internship— I win all around.”

Seungmin grimaces and shakes his head. “If it was me in your shoes, I’d be livid right now!” He exclaims; he isn’t even in Felix’s shoes and he’s already annoyed.

“Yeah, but you’d never be in this predicament, Seungminnie,” Felix points out. “Because you’re smart, and you’re good at everything.”

He sighs, because all he wants to do now is help alleviate Felix’s insecurities. “I’m not really,” he argues gently. “Good at everything, I mean. But— I’d be good at helping you anyway. So don’t worry, I’ll help you ace midterms!” He isn’t exactly an expert at financial engineering, and he’s never taken the class either, but he had taken a numerical analysis core subject the previous term which had _briefly_ touched on financial engineering, at least.

“Seungmin—” Felix laughs. “You don’t have to. You already help me a lot, as it is. And you have more than enough on your own plate!”

“Well,” Seungmin waves a hand dismissively, “I wasn’t even actively trying to help you before, so—!” He laughs, and quickly flashes a supportive grin at his friend. “Imagine how much more I’d be able to help if I actually _actively_ try to.”

“I— well,” Felix laughs even more; the tension present on his features just a couple of minutes earlier is completely gone, which makes Seungmin feel relief. “I can’t argue with your logic,” Felix adds, nodding. “Thank you, Seungminnie.”

“No problem,” he answers, and because for a very brief moment, he’s feeling quite bold, he adds, without much thought, “Anything for you, Lix.”

  
  


 

As it turns out, there is way more to financial engineering than whatever it is that was touched upon briefly in Seungmin’s old numerical analysis course. Still, that doesn’t faze him, and even though Felix repeatedly tells him that it’s more than enough that Seungmin regularly lets him study _with_ him (“I told you, when we’re together, I soak up your genius vibes, and it makes me feel smarter, and that manifests in my work!” Felix had even declared at one point), he refused to have it. Seungmin was determined to _actively_ help Felix raise his grades up, which is how he ends up reviewing one of Felix’s research papers for his last Humanities elective, while his friend pores through a review packet that Seungmin had also helped collate.

He’s quietly writing notes in the margins of Felix’s paper, when he suddenly feels his friend rest his chin on his arm. The first thing Seungmin does is try to chase away that usual (by now) fluttering in his chest, before grunting in acknowledgment.

“What are you doing?” He asks softly, without turning his head because he’s afraid that if he does, all his blood is just going to rush to his face because of their proximity.

“I’m—” Felix has to pause as he opens his mouth to yawn before continuing, “—sleepy. I’ve read the reviewer front to back at least a dozen times now, if I read it again my head will explode.” He’s mumbling lazily, sounding as sleepy as he has just declared; Seungmin wants to berate him - he has an oral quiz the day after, and he wants Felix to do well, but he just doesn’t have it in him to scold his friend. Especially not when he’s suddenly taken to lazily nuzzling against Seungmin’s  arm.

“Lix—” Seungmin starts, quickly glancing at the time display on his phone screen. It says it’s a few minutes past 9; with midterms fast approaching, the two of them have been spending late nights at the cafe, typically fueled with caffeine and sugary sweets. “You want to go home?”

“Aren’t we waiting for Jeongin to finish his shift?” Felix asks, and Seungmin’s gaze travels towards the direction of the counter where Jeongin was in the middle of taking an order from a pair of girls. He still had an hour left on his shift, so Seungmin simply shrugs.

“I guess we can,” he murmurs. “I’m almost done with your paper, too.”

“You know you don’t have to triple check it,” Felix says, sighing and moving away from Seungmin’s arm, only to rest his cheek against his hand instead.

“I know—” Seungmin agrees. “But I wanted to.”

Felix sighs. “Why are you working so hard on helping me study?” He laughs, and straightens up finally. “By the way, that study mix you made? Really did help me last night,” he says, grinning appreciatively as he refers to the playlist Seungmin had curated for him, and which he had specifically filled with songs that typically help him focus when he's studying. “Thanks.”

“Because you’re my friend, and I want you to realise that you’re actually really smart,” Seungmin says matter-of-factly. “It’s just that you’re easily distracted,” he adds with a chuckle, finally putting his pen down and handing Felix’s paper back to him. “Also, sometimes you have a little trouble putting your thoughts together cohesively, but that doesn’t take away from— _you know._ Your actual smarts. So never think otherwise.”

He doesn’t know where all that had come from, or why he’d chosen that moment to unload the speech on Felix. His friend seems taken aback as well, at least for a grand total of five seconds - after which his surprise naturally transforms into a pleased expression.

“Thanks Minnie,” Felix croaks, his voice low and appreciative, and once again, the sweet way he says it makes Seungmin’s stomach turn in a strange, but not entirely unpleasant way.

“Hey you guys—” Before Seungmin can think of anything more to say, their little conversation is interrupted as Woojin approaches their table. The way Felix sits up straight, and smiles wider at his arrival isn’t lost on Seungmin either.

“Hey, hyung!” Felix chirps, bright, and less sleepy sounding than he had just a minute ago.

“Hi, hyung,” Seungmin echoes, smiling as well, because truth be told he _likes_ Woojin. The older male is nice, friendly and always gives them discounts on their drinks. Jeongin also vouches for him being a good boss, and all things considered, Seungmin doesn’t really have any reason to _not_ like him.

“We’re introducing a new product next week,” Woojin exclaims, as he sets down a plate with two brown buns, both smelling delicious and freshly baked, on the table in front of the two of them. “Coffee buns,” he explains, “and my two favorite customers get to taste test.”

“Oooh!” Felix immediately makes a grab at one of the buns, sniffing at it before taking a big bite. “Hyung it’s—” He nods enthusiastically, flashing a thumb up at Woojin, who turns to observe Seungmin next.

“Thanks, hyung,” Seungmin says, reaching for the remaining piece of bread. “They smell really good,” he comments, before taking a tentative bite.

Woojin nods, seemingly satisfied that both of them have tried the so-called new product. “Well enjoy eating, and then later, you can give me some proper feedback,” he tells them with a smile, before turning and heading back to behind the counter, soon enough disappearing into the kitchen afterwards.

Seungmin continues to quietly eat the bread, unsure what to do now that he’s done checking Felix’s paper, so he just watches as his friend skims through the notes he’s written on the margins.

“This is actually pretty good,” he mumbles, referring to the coffee bun, talking just so he can break the sudden silence.

“It is, isn’t it?” Felix agrees heartily, taking yet another bite and flashing a closed-mouth smile as he chews on his food. “Hyung was over a couple of weeks ago, and he was talking to noona about really wanting to expand this place’s menu.”

“He was… over?” It shouldn’t be a surprise, since they _did_ live right across each other, yet hearing Felix say it feels weird anyway.

“Yeah, he was borrowing sugar but—” Felix laughs, as if amused by whatever memory it is that he’s just conjured. “My sister made him stay for breakfast. It was a weekend—”

Seungmin nods slowly; Felix looks like he has more to trivialities to share, but Seungmin, overtaken with overwhelming curiosity, suddenly asks, “Are you ever going to tell Woojin-hyung that you like him?”

Felix, halfway through biting into his coffee bread, is obviously taken aback by the question, his eyes growing wide in shock. “What—?” And then he takes a beat, before his face relaxes, and laughter trickles out of his throat. “Oh, right! That happened— I _did_ like him, didn’t I?”

It’s Seungmin’s turn to be baffled at Felix’s reaction. “Yes—? You don’t anymore?” To be fair, Felix hasn’t really mentioned anything about his crush on Woojin in months, but Seungmin just assumed that was because he _did_ say that he wanted to focus on other things - but that was an entire year ago, and as far as Seungmin is concerned, Felix hasn’t really looked at Woojin any differently.

“Not really,” Felix shakes his head; he’s chuckling like the crush Seungmin is referring to is now clearly a ridiculous and far-off memory, and it brings an embarrassed flush to Seungmin’s cheeks. “It’s so long ago, I guess I kind of… forgot. Besides, I think he’s interested in my sister.”

“Oh.” Seungmin kind of hates himself for the mild relief that he feels from the revelation. “I’m sorry,” he adds, gently pressing against his friend’s side as he offers a small smile. It occurs to him that this wouldn’t be the first time that someone Felix is interested in, had ended up liking someone that’s close to him, and it makes Seungmin feel even more awful about his earlier relief.

“Don’t be!” Felix grins as he slides an arm around Seungmin. “It was a really brief crush— I think it tells you a lot that I’ve forgotten about it. Lots of things happened over the last year, after all.”

Seungmin sighs and turns to look at Felix, forcing himself to smile and accept the reassurance that Felix is giving him. “I guess it’s just as well, huh? This year’s going to be even busier than last year,” he points out.

“Exactly,” Felix nods. “I wasn’t in the right state to be dating much last year, and that hasn’t changed this year.”

“Right,” Seungmin nods, consciously making sure that his smile doesn’t falter even though Felix’s declaration has his heart sinking into his stomach.

  


 

— ❦ —

  


 

Felix, unsurprisingly (to Seungmin, at least) aces his midterms, and earns a presumably glowing referral letter from his adviser that helps him get his summer internship of choice - which just happens to be at a manufacturing plant located in Daejeon. He and Hyunjin had secured jobs at the same company, one which had also graciously arranged their living arrangements at a dormitory in the area, allowing them easy daily commute.

Seungmin, on the other hand, chose an internship at a company based in Seoul. It was a big, renowned construction firm, where Jisung’s boyfriend, Minho, worked at, which meant Jisung had vied for the same internship - lucky for them, they’d manage to secure two out of five spots offered. (“Just when I thought I’d gotten rid of you,” Seungmin had joked at Jisung, even though he was actually secretly glad that they were doing this together.)

The respective locations, and their busy schedules, unfortunately meant that Seungmin and Jisung were going to see even less of Hyunjin and Felix. On top of that, as much as Minho has grown on him, Seungmin wasn’t really looking forward to being a third-wheel to Minho and Jisung. (“Don’t worry,” Jisung had assured him, even though he hadn’t even voiced this concern out loud. “Minho-hyung likes you, he thinks you’re funny,” he clarified, and Seungmin wasn’t sure if Jisung was just clowning him, because he isn’t exactly known for his humor.)

Except, as it turns out, Seungmin’s concerns were baseless anyway.

“I really thought I’d at least see more of him if I worked here,” Jisung grumbles over lunch, not for the first time since the two of them started working at the firm two weeks ago.

“He isn’t joining us today?” Seungmin asks; to be fair Minho _tries_ to have lunch with them as much as he can, but interns usually took their break at a different hour.

“Nope, his team is having a meeting about their new project, and I think he said he’s going to be spending most of next week on site at the construction area,” Jisung says with a sigh. “Sorry,” he says after pushing his food down with a gulp of cola. “I’m being ridiculous.”

“Good that you know,” Seungmin deadpans, even though he actually doesn’t truly mind Jisung’s whining - in fact, for once, he thinks he kind of gets it. Jisung has been working a lot harder this year than Seungmin has ever seen him, and he knows that means he and Minho have even less time for each other. His passive response has Jisung pouting though, which makes Seungmin feel bad. He nudges Jisung’s foot with his under the table, and flashes a small smile when his friend looks up at him. “I didn’t mean that,” he mumbles. “You aren’t being ridiculous. You miss your boyfriend, it’s understandable.”

“You’re being extra nice, it’s kinda scary,” Jisung says after a moment of pause; he chuckles and shakes his head. “I know I’m still being a little silly though, especially since I’m sure you’re missing Felix too—” Seungmin wrinkles his nose, especially as Jisung grins, making a very obviously deliberate pause, before adding, “—and Hyunjin, of course.”

Seungmin narrows his eyes at Jisung, who keeps wearing his shit-eating smile anyway, and he almost regrets being nice just a minute ago. “Yeah, well, don’t _you?”_

“Yeah,” Jisung nods. “Sure, of course, I do too.”

There’s something teasing about his tone that almost makes Seungmin snap, but he manages to control his temper with a deep breath, and he manages to let it go by just rolling his eyes at his friend.

“I guess at least their meat buns here are really good,” Jisung says finally, after several minutes of silence pass, sighing as he bites into his second pork bun.

“I like their tonkatsu too,” Seungmin offers in a quiet voice, pushing around the rice in his bowl as he forces himself to focus on the positive like Jisung is clearly doing. He’s actually truly enjoying the hands-on job experience this summer is giving him, and he’d rather revel in that completely rather than pay any mind to the occasional sting he feels whenever he checks his phone, only to find that his group chat with his best friends is half-dead.

Besides, it would do nobody any good if both he and Jisung are regularly complaining about missing people, and Jisung, at least, is missing his actual _boyfriend._

  
  


 

“Hello—?” Seungmin mumbles into the speaker of his phone after he answers it, too tired to even bother checking the name on the screen before he does.

It’s a three weeks into the summer, a Friday, and Seungmin had come home late after having a round of drinks with his fellow interns. He’d caught a glimpse of the time when he’d arrived home, and it had been a few shy minutes away from midnight. He assumes it’s around half past now, because he’s done washing up and he really just wants to go to sleep. In fact, his head had just hit the pillow when he’d heard the loud, incessant buzzing of his phone on his night stand.

“Jisung—?” He asks as soon as he picks up, not bothering check the display and simply assuming that’s who it is, because _who else_ would it be at this hour? His friend probably forgot to tell him something - most likely something trivial, at that.

“No, it’s me.” The voice from the other end is deep and gravelly, yet somewhat soft, like he’s as tired as Seungmin himself is feeling. “Were you expecting Jisungie to call?”

The familiar tone has Seungmin sitting right back up, suddenly feeling quite awake. “Lix, hey—!” He wonders if Felix can tell how widely he’s smiling, from how he sounds. He hopes not.

“Did I wake you up?”

“No—” Seungmin shakes his head vehemently, before quietly laughing because it’s not as if Felix can see him. “No. I just got home, actually.”

“Oh, yeah!” Felix sounds way too enthusiastic at this hour, but Seungmin doesn’t mind. “I was messaging Jisung this afternoon, and he told me about your plans. Did you have fun?”

“I guess, yeah, a bit— I even got a bit knackered,” Seungmin offers with a soft chuckle, his head making a soft thud as it hits the pillow again after Seungmin lays back down. “Didn’t drive today.”

“Really—?” Felix laughs, and even though he doesn’t want to admit it even to himself, Seungmin thinks he’s really missed that sound. “I can’t imagine you being drunk at all, Min— We’ve been friends four years, and I’ve _never_ seen you drunk.”

“I—” Seungmin huffs. “I didn’t say I got _drunk!_ I just got a _bit_ tipsy, is all.” He thinks Felix has at least seen him slightly buzzed, but then he laughs again, because maybe not - if Seungmin is at his tipsy point, then Felix is usually already _past_ drunk. “Wait—” He rolls onto his back, and stares up at his ceiling when he realises something. “Why’d you call? Did something happen? Is anything wrong—?”

There’s a couple of seconds of nothing but silence, and Seungmin feels rising panic in his chest. But then, Felix lets out an embarrassed sounding whinge, and it’s oddly relaxing.

“No, nothing’s wrong,” Felix says. “I just—” He pauses, but Seungmin is used to this with him, and he easily manages to be patient long enough to wait for him to gather his thoughts. “I don’t know,” Felix adds, chuckling softly. “We just haven’t talked in a while.”

Seungmin feels his cheeks warming up; they _have_ had a few short exchanges through messenger, but Hyunjin and Felix are barely allowed access to their phones during the day. “That’s true,” Seungmin murmurs. “How are things there—? How’s Hyunjin?”

“Asleep,” Felix answers, before laughing. “Speaking of getting drunk— Hyunjin got really _piss_ drunk the other night, it was kind of really funny.”

“Are you trying to tell me, you were sober enough to recall Hyunjin’s drunk antics?” Seungmin teases.

“Oy!” Felix laughs even more, and Seungmin finds himself sitting up again, hugging a pillow close to his chest as he comfortably leans back against the headboard. “But— yeah. Surprisingly, I was. The seniors at work kept offering him shots, and you know he has a hard time refusing people.” Seungmin hums to acknowledge that he’s still listening, and Felix goes on, getting more animated sounding as he continues his story. “So yeah, he was kind of far gone before the night was even over— and by ten in the evening, he kept talking to everyone… _in English!”_

“Wait, what—?!” Seungmin snorts, the story having taken a turn that he hadn’t been expecting.

 _“Yeah,”_ and Felix’s excitement is even more apparent now because _he’s_ taken to talking in English. _“He kept talking to the seniors in English, and half of them were amused, and half were confused about what he was saying, Seungminnie!_ I didn’t even realise his English was that good and I’ve known him four years—” Felix chortles; he’s rambling non-stop now, as he tends to when it’s just the two of them talking. “I guess he just gets a bit self-conscious speaking in English when he’s sober. I can kind of understand that, yeah? _I used to be the same when speaking in Korean._ Still feel like that sometimes— you know what he said to me? _‘Seungmin’s not the only one you can talk to, you know!’_ like you’re the only one I talk to—?”

“I’m confused,” Seungmin mumbles, but he can’t help his own soft teetering. He also can’t help but wonder what Hyunjin actually means by his words, even though Felix doesn’t seem to be bothered at all.

“Yeah, me too,” Felix acquiesces. “But I assume it was the alcohol talking— his hangover the day after was pretty bad, but— he’s lucky. All the seniors at work really do love him, because they barely assigned him to work on anything the entire day. Me and my mild hangover was stuck working on a flow chart presentation for my team leader.”

“That sounds accurately Hyunjinnie,” Seungmin hums. “People adore him wherever he goes.” He wonders, though, if Felix realises that he actually has the same effect on most people.

“Yeah…” Felix trails off into more laughter. “Oh! But— he's lucky, Changbin-hyung is visiting this weekend. Guess I’m gonna be stuck being the third wheel.”

“Yeah—? Welcome to the club,” Seungmin deadpans. “Imagine my life with Jisung and Minho-hyung. _Everyday.”_

“That’s— true,” Felix admits with a chortle. _“Sorry for your life, Seungmin.”_

“...I was kidding,” Seungmin huffs. “We hardly ever see Minho-hyung, to be honest.”

“I know,” Felix chirps, and the admittance has Seungmin whinging through the line. “Jisung and I regularly message, remember?”

“I—” Seungmin snorts. “Right— either way, good luck, _you’re_ actually going to have to live that life this weekend.”

“I wish you were coming instead,” Felix says, and then there’s a pause which makes Seungmin’s heart skip a beat, before, “You and Jisung, I mean.”

Seungmin exhales quietly, and he takes a few seconds, sinking back down in his bed before responding, “Yeah. Maybe we can, before the summer’s over? It’s not a very long train ride.”

“Aren’t you and Jisung super busy?”

“We can make time on a weekend for you guys,” Seungmin assures him. “Maybe the next one?”

“Oh! No need—! Hyunjin and I are going home next weekend— so maybe the one after?”

Seungmin smiles, thinking it _would_ actually be nice to get away from Seoul, even for just a day or two, especially if it meant seeing Felix _and_ Hyunjin. He makes a mental note to bring it up with Jisung as soon as possible.

“Sounds good,” He agrees out loud. “And next week, you and Hyunjin are having lunch with us, yeah?”

“Yes, okay, definitely!”

They trail off into silence that Seungmin thinks can be described as companionable - which is strange, because he never thought that was possible over the phone line. He thinks that maybe, if they don’t have anything to talk about anymore, they should probably hang up - it’s late, and both of them are clearly tired and in need of some rest. Except he really doesn’t want the call to end just yet.

“Seungmin?” After almost a minute of nothing but phone static and light humming, Felix pipes up again.

“Yeah?”

“Did you know that Hyunjin snores?” He asks, surprising Seungmin into instant laughter.

“What!”

“Yeah—” Felix snickers, sounding pleased at Seungmin’s reaction. “He’s starting right now, you wanna hear? He talks in his sleep, too, sometimes. We’ve all spent the night together before, but? _We’ve never heard him do this before!”_

Seungmin hears soft rustling, and indeterminate movement from the other end, before the sound of faint snoring fills his ears.

“Felix—!!” He hisses, wheezing as he tries to hold back his laughter. He was so exhausted and ready to sleep not even half an hour earlier, and now he’s so awake and alert.

The sound of snoring fades away soon enough, replaced by more of Felix’s low chuckles. “Sorry, I just needed for you to hear proof!”

“Tch—” Seungmin snorts. “I guess it’s because he’s super tired. Isn’t it supposed to be like that…? You snore when you’re really stressed or tired.”

“I guess so,” Felix muses. “Poor Hyunjin, though. I guess he _has_ been pretty tired…”

“We all have, I assume,” Seungmin murmurs. “Are _you_ getting enough rest, Lix? Aren’t you tired right now?”

“Oh, yeah, don’t worry— and even if I’m tired, I’d rather be talking to you anyway,” Felix shares openly - so naturally, and matter-of-fact, completely oblivious about that way his words make Seungmin feel like he has butterflies in his stomach.

“Okay, then, just keep talking,” Seungmin tells him. “Tell me about your day— your week? Tell me anything.”

And so Felix does - he talks about his day, about the little tasks he’s been assigned to at work, and he goes on to talk about how his week has been, about his entire summer so far. He describes the other interns he and Hyunjin are dorming with, and the other members of his team. He makes Seungmin feel like he knows everyone new that he’s met in Daejeon so far, and Seungmin just _listens._ Occasionally he’d laugh, because Felix’s laughter is as contagious as it always has been, and occasionally he’d add to the conversation with an anecdote or two of his own. The night grows deeper, until somewhere along he ends up dozing off to the sound of Felix’s sleep voice.

 

 

 **ddaengmin** (10:03 AM):  
good morning!  
sry i fell asleep on u last night ㅠㅠ

 **lix_the_cat** (10:21 AM):  
hey!  
g’morning!  
i think i fell asleep without realising u did  
so i guess i sort of fell asleep on u too 😅

 **ddaengmin** (10:22 AM):  
...well that’s just silly ㅋ  
the last thing i rmb is u telling me abt chaerin?  
chaeyoung?  
what’s the name again? ur teamm8 who’s been to aus

 **lix_the_cat** (10:25 AM):  
chaerin  
...i don’t even rmb talking abt her  
guess we just rly did fall asleep on each other

 **ddaengmin** (10:27 AM):  
i feel like u’re saying i’m boring now —_—  

 **lix_the_cat** (10:36 AM):  
i’m not!!!!!  
ah, hyunjin says hi  
also changbin-hyung is here now  
they want to go out and eat  
i’ll call u again soon seungminnie!

  
  


“Hey, Seungmin.”

When a hand claps on Seungmin’s shoulder one morning, while he’s queuing for coffee at the Starbucks a block and a half away from the company building, he almost jumps out of his shoes.

“Minho-hyung—” He squeaks in recognition, once he turns and finds that it’s just the older male.

“You haven’t even had caffeine yet, and you’re already this jumpy,” Minho observes with a sardonic chuckle.

“You just surprised me, is all,” Seungmin mumbles, cheeks warming up in embarrassment even as they go forward together when the line moves.

They don’t say much to each other until they’re right in front of the counter, and after Seungmin orders his usual (“Tall macchiato, hot, please,” he tells the female barista who smiles at him knowingly - it’s no surprise that she’s familiar with Seungmin, considering morning coffee at this branch has been Seungmin’s daily routine for the past two months) and Minho quickly slides both his loyalty card _and_ credit card over.

“One tall Americano,” Minho tells the barista, before nodding at Seungmin. “It’s on me.”

“Hyung, no need—” Seungmin tries to argue, but it’s useless because the cashier is already processing the payment. “Thanks,” he says, sighing and offering Minho a grateful smile in the end.

“No problem,” Minho assures him, and they move to the side so they can wait for their drinks to be prepared. “You always go to work this early?”

A quick glance at the time would show that both of them have a good half hour left before their work shifts start, and admittedly, Seungmin _is_ always around this early most days. “I always get coffee here, hyung, and I’d rather be safe, than late and without coffee for the morning. Why are _you_ early?”

“Oh, I have an early morning presentation so—” Minho shrugs; and then he fixes a curious stare at Seungmin which makes the latter feel somewhat anxious. Seungmin isn’t sure how to act, and he’s feeling quite awkward. He and Minho are friendly enough, especially when at least Jisung is around. But it’s just the two of them now, and he isn’t really sure how to facilitate conversation with Minho.

“Good luck with that, hyung,” is what he ends up saying cautiously in the end.

“Thanks,” Minho nods, blinking several times, before, “Actually, Seungmin, I’m curious about something—”

 _“Coffee for Lee Minho!”_ A voice calls out, cutting whatever it is that Minho was about to ask Seungmin. He holds a finger up, and both of them go to claim their drinks.

“Thank you again, hyung,” Seungmin repeats as they both walk towards the exit. “Next time, I’ll pay.”

“Okay,” Minho agrees easily; when he laughs his eyes sparkle and the corners of his lips turn up prettily, and Seungmin partially understands why his friend is so into him. “I won’t say no to free coffee,” Minho adds cheekily. “But as I was saying earlier, there’s something I’m curious about.”

“Right—?” Seungmin nods, and then he gestures for Minho to continue.

“So what’s going on with you and that Felix guy—?” Minho’s inquiry is made in a very straightforward and unceremonious manner - almost like he’s just asking for the time, or anything else as mundane. It catches Seungmin completely off-guard and he almost spits his drink out for it.

_“What—?!”_

Minho snickers at his reaction, and Seungmin goes from understanding Minho’s general appeal to giving him a scowl.

“You should see your face,” Minho comments, still snickering with obvious amusement. They’ve stepped out onto the sidewalk now, and Seungmin is tempted to pick up his pace and just walk on ahead but he knows that would be silly and extremely childish.

“I don’t even understand your question,” he says instead.

“Oh? Jisung talks, you know,” Minho comments, eyebrows wagging, and it gives Seungmin a strange sense of deja vu.

“Yeah? And what does he talk about?”

“Strangely enough? He talks a lot about how you and Felix seem to have something going on—” Minho breaks out into a huge grin, while Seungmin’s cheeks proceed to visibly color.

“Your boyfriend needs to mind his own business,” Seungmin grumbles, turning his coffee cup in his hands just so he can focus on something - _anything -_ that isn’t Minho looking annoyingly entertained.

“He probably does,” Minho agrees, “but I’m not hearing you deny anything either.”

Seungmin groans, because Minho is right. “There’s nothing going on,” he snipes; he’s trying to put on a strong and disaffected front, but the way Minho steadily looks like he’s privy to something that Seungmin isn’t easily gets to him. “...what _exactly_ does Jisung tell you?”

Minho laughs, and Seungmin hates that it makes him feel like he walked right into a trap. “Just that he thinks something’s going on,” he says.

“Sounds like Jisung,” Seungmin rolls his eyes. “He always thinks he knows more than he does.”

That draws laughter out of Minho, which actually makes Seungmin blush _harder._

“You’re a little too riled up, and you’ve _barely_ had your coffee,” Minho comments, as he nods at the cup Seungmin is holding, and once again, he’s right. “You like him, don’t you? Felix? You like him a lot.”

“I—” Seungmin is about to deny this; he doesn’t know how Minho could even arrive to this conclusion, Jisung’s gossip mongering aside. But before the denial even comes out of his mouth, he feels himself deflating - he’s tired, and Minho’s words are no lie. “Maybe I do,” he mumbles. “I think I do,” he adds, and as the admittance slides off his tongue, he feels panic rising up his chest. “Shit— please don’t say anything, hyung.”

Minho laughs. “Don’t worry, I won’t,” he assures Seungmin with a squeeze on his arm. “Not even to Jisung— it’s kinda funny when he whines about the two of you. For the record, though, I think Felix is probably into you, too.”

Seungmin’s brow furrows at the elder’s words. “Wait, what exactly _does_ Jisung tell you?” He asks again; he should probably shut up - he’s done right by himself, never talking about this, or even _acknowledging_ his feelings out loud, but the way Minho is talking is annoyingly giving him a bit of hope that maybe, just _maybe,_ Jisung knows something because Felix shared something with him.

“He just talks a lot about how the two of you would make a nice couple,” Minho shares. “But that he’s afraid if he tells you straight up, you’ll snap at him—” He laughs some more, and Seungmin winces at the truth to his words.

He sighs and stops walking; they’ve reached the crosswalk and the pedestrian light is still at red. “Hyung—” He glances at Minho, who actually flashes a small, but strangely encouraging smile at him. He knows it’s weird, of all people, he’s chosen to come clean about his crush - about his _feelings_ for Felix - to Minho, but the initial panic has been replaced with relief and resignation. It’s nice because the burden of constant denial has been lifted off his shoulders, but it isn’t as if anything has really changed. “I don’t think he feels the same, actually,” he shares softly. “We’ve been friends for four years, and I’ve seen the type of guys that Felix likes. It isn’t me, hyung.”

Minho shrugs. “He’s your friend, and you know him better than I do,” he admits, “but— Jisung’s pretty close with the both of you, and he’s pretty convinced that there’s something there. Jisung can be a dumbass at times, but he’s also very in tune with how people around him feel.” He pauses, and laughs, nudging Seungmin as the red light turns to green, and they both step onto the road to cross to their building. “I’d always put my money on Jisung, honestly.”

Seungmin huffs. “You’re biased, hyung.”

“I might be, but there’s a reason for that,” Minho points out with more laughter. “If I were you, I’d stop keeping my feelings to myself, and start actually doing something about them.”

  
  


 

Minho’s pep talk, unfortunately,  only lasts as long as the rest of the summer. And then the second term starts, and Seungmin has to once again see Felix regularly.

Minho tells him - and now that Minho is the only one who knows, Seungmin has taken to messaging him _a lot_ \- that he should loosen up, maybe flirt a little. According to the older male, he should, at the very least, subtly let Felix know that he’s important. (“Because you did a very good job showing Jisung at the beginning, didn’t you?” Seungmin had been proud of himself for getting that teasing remark in, but it was useless because Minho had been unfazed.)

He tries, _he really does,_ but if he thought he was hyper aware of everything Felix said and did before, it gets even worse. Now that he’s actually owned up to his feelings for his friend - now that he’s actually _told someone_ about them, and constant denial is off the table, he gets really anxious around Felix. It doesn’t help that he generally has no idea how to flirt to begin with, so in the end he decides that he’s better of _not_ trying. (“Where is the logic in that?” Minho asked him, and this time, it was Seungmin’s turn to ignore his words, and act unaffected - not that it worked very well in his favor.)

Whenever he’s around Felix, he keeps flashing back to Minho hypothesizing that his friend just might have feelings for him as well, and he ends up over analyzing every single thing his friend does. It slowly starts driving him up a wall, so he consciously works on detaching instead. He doesn’t think it affects him as much when they’re joined by at least one of their friends - so he makes sure they are. Their lunch breaks coincide only twice every week, and lucky for him, Jisung and Hyunjin and Jeongin, even, take their breaks at the same time.

The problem is what used to be their daily afternoons at Coffee One; the entire first week after school returns, he brushes off Felix’s messages asking him for a ride to the coffee shop, making excuses about how he has to study at the library instead. The week after, he only shows up because he manages to drag Jisung along with him. (“Fine,” Jisung had said when he’d grudgingly agreed. “You’re buying me a drink,” he’d demanded, and Seungmin had rolled his eyes, pointed out that Jisung didn’t have anything better to do because his tutoring gigs had been moved to mostly weekends, but eventually he’d agreed to buy him a frothy ice blended drink, and a slice of cake anyway.)

It isn’t so bad - he doesn’t think he’s making it too obvious that he’s avoiding Felix, because technically, he isn’t really. They still spend a lot of time together, and they continue to exchange messages frequently whenever they aren’t physically together. If Seungmin is quieter, if his responses are more clipped, he makes sure to have it seem like it’s because he’s preoccupied with his studies - they’re all in their graduating term, all of them neck deep in school work and various responsibilities, ranging from papers to plates to problem sets, so it isn’t as if his excuse is a complete lie either.

It’s not until one evening, when Hyunjin is with them - and he’s been with them a lot, because he and Felix have been working on their thesis, for which Seungmin is grateful for - that Seungmin is faced with the realisation that Felix isn’t completely blind or unaffected by the sudden shift in Seungmin’s behavior towards him.

“Felix is concerned he’s done something wrong,” Hyunjin tells him suddenly. Felix has just excused himself to the bathroom, and even though Seungmin is busy arranging the bibliography section of his thesis, the uncharacteristically somber tone that Hyunjin uses has him looking up in surprise.

“What do you mean?”

Hyunjin shrugs. “He says he feels like you’ve been avoiding him,” he says, his gaze squarely meeting Seungmin’s. “Have you been avoiding him?”

Seungmin forces out laughter. “What—? That’s ridiculous. If I am, then I won’t be here with you both right now?”

“I— you’re right,” Hyunjin agrees with a chuckle; he sighs, and Seungmin is thankful that Hyunjin is the type who is easily convinced. “He’s concerned anyway. Seungmin, I think he—”

“He—?” Seungmin frowns when Hyunjin cuts himself off. “You think he—?”

“Nothing.” Hyunjin smiles, before letting out a soft groan. “I think we _all_ are just pretty stressed. I can’t wait to graduate— but all the hoops we have to jump through to get there…” He sighs and leans down, pressing his cheeks against the stack of books laid out in front of him.

“We’re almost there, don’t worry,” Seungmin assures him, hand reaches out to gently pat his friend on the head. “The holidays are coming up next week,” he adds with a smile, but then just the mention of Chuseok immediately takes him back to the previous year.

 _Shit,_ he thinks. Because the holidays would mean it’s been a full year since he’s first felt the quiet murmurs of his burgeoning crush on Felix; he’d been so hell bent on pushing it back, forcing himself not to confront it, and now it makes sense that his feelings have grown into something colossal and hard to ignore without him fully realising it.

“True,” Hyunjin grins, nuzzling against Seungmin’s hand before sitting up straight. “And then it’s Jisung’s and Felix’s birthdays— yours, too!”

“Yeah,” Seungmin nods slowly. By now it’s a given that the three of them September celebrants are going to have a joint celebration, the same way they’ve done during the last several years. “So we at least have a bit of a break from everything going on,” he adds with a wry smile. Typically, they tend to go out and party, his friends drinking the night away, with Seungmin as the usual designated driver. He’s thinking, all things considered, maybe this year, he’ll try to let himself go a bit - he deserves a night of not thinking too much, after all.

“Did someone say birthdays?” Felix asks, his hand landing on the back of Seungmin’s neck, causing the latter to flinch on surprise. The bathroom is located behind him, so he hadn’t even noticed when Felix had come out.

“Sorry,” Felix mumbles sheepishly, quickly retracting his hand and making his way around the table so he can take his seat across Hyunjin and Seungmin. Now that Hyunjin has let him know that Felix has been feeling conscious about how he’s been acting around him recently, he feels bad. He flashes a small smile at Felix, who returns it with a relieved grin. “So yeah, birthdays— we’re celebrating the weekend after the holidays this year, right?” He confirms, and both Hyunjin and Seungmin nod. “Can’t wait!!”

  
  


 

Their triple birthday celebration come and go, and for the first time in his life Seungmin gets absolutely sloshed. He barely recalls anything about the night, but that doesn’t matter so much because Jisung refuses to let him forget how he’d ended the night vomiting in the gutter right outside the club, and then puking some more in the gutter right outside Jisung’s apartment building. He also wakes up the next day on the floor of Jisung’s small studio apartment, joints aching, and nursing an impossible hangover that makes him feel like he’s about to die. When Jisung gives him raisin tea to help the headache out, he recalls gaining newfound respect for his friend, and thinking that he doesn’t understand how Jisung had basically spent the first two years of his university life functioning if he felt similarly every single day.

That aside, he _does_ remember bits and pieces that are more positive. He knows he had fun, because it’s a feeling that stayed with him. He and his friends had chosen to party at a newly opened bar in Itaewon, where Minho apparently knows the barista (“Chris-hyung is great,” Jisung affirms. “He’ll give us discounts on shots, which means we can party harder!”), and Seungmin recalls reaching a point where he’d been buzzed enough that he was actually enjoying the sharp sting of the alcohol passing down his throat. He remembers Hyunjin dragging all of them to the dance floor, and he recalls practically tripping over his own two feet as he tries to keep up with his friends. He doesn’t remember nagging at Jisung to finish his half for one of their joint papers in one of their classes, but Jisung _swears_ it happened, and because Hyunjin vouches for him, while Felix laughs at the apparent memory, Seungmin gives in and cops to it.

Either way, whether or not he remembers it in full, it’s more than apparent that it was a night worthy of the books and so Seungmin assumes that that’s it - that’s his birthday fun for the year.

The actual September 22nd falls on a Thursday, and even though he goes directly home after his classes so he can have a nice dinner with his family, all his friends give him hearty greetings in person, Felix included. Which is why, when at around nine in the evening, he receives a message from said boy telling him that he’s right outside Seungmin’s apartment building, he’s utterly confused.

“Why are you here?” He asks, after he meets his friend at the entrance of the building. “How did you get here?” The number of times Seungmin has had his friends over can be easily counted on one hand - it isn’t that he doesn’t like having them over, but is really more of a logistics issue. Out of the four of them, he’s the one who lives furthest from the university, is all.

“I do know how to take the train, Seungminnie,” Felix comments with a chuckle; he’s being playful because over the last couple of years, more often than not, due to afternoons and evenings spent together at Coffee One, Seungmin drives him home. “And the bus.”

“Okay, but—” He chuckles and shakes his head, because Felix is simply being cheeky. “That doesn’t answer the _why_ part of the question though.”

“I wanted to give you your birthday gift,” Felix says matter-of-factly, smiling affably as he holds out a paper gift bag.

“And it couldn’t wait until tomorrow?” Seungmin shoots him a curious look, even as he cautiously accepts the present. He peers inside the gift bag and is surprised to find a book inside. His entire face lights up when he takes it out and he gets a better look at the cover, and his jaw drops in joy. “Oh!” Maybe he’s being a little exaggerated in his reaction, but it fills him with warmth, because the book is the newest offering from his favorite essayist. He recalls mentioning in passing, a couple of weeks ago, that it was going to hit the shelves soon, and he can’t believe that Felix remembered something so trivial. “Thank you—!”

“I wanted to give it to you on the day itself!” Felix says, beaming proudly because Seungmin is obviously pleased with the present.

“And you didn’t give it to me earlier—?” He probes curiously; it’s not as if they hadn’t seen each other earlier that day - all four of them even had lunch off campus.

“I— I just wanted to see you before the day is over,” Felix admits, his tone suddenly a bit more subdued - almost shy, even. “I kind of wanted to celebrate a little— With you, I mean. At school, it’s like you’re always in a hurry when you’re around me, and it’s hard to get you to myself…”

Seungmin blinks at him, silently repeating Felix’s words in his head, before letting them settle. Slowly, steadily, the usually faint (and now familiar) fluttering in his chest grows into something more thunderous and he finds himself mentally screaming - does Felix even _understand_ the kind of effect his words have on him?

 _I think Felix is into you, too._ Minho’s words echo in his head once more, and Seungmin wonders if it’s safe to make assumptions regarding that based on the way Felix is acting right now.

“I’m sorry,” he says, placing the book back in the gift bag before hugging the present to his chest. “I’m just—” Seungmin pauses because he’s _what?_ Is he supposed to admit that he’s been actively avoiding spending too much personal time with Felix because it always makes him feel like he should act on his feelings, except he’s sorta, kinda, maybe, _totally_  allergic to flirting? Saying any of that loud will just make him sound insane, so he settles with, “—busy. There’s so much going on, and you know I’m working on my thesis alone…” He’s actually doing pretty well by himself, even though it _does_ mean he has to do double the work compared to most of his peers, but he doesn’t say that because it still adds to his excuse. “—so it's really more about… me, and not because you did anything wrong.”

“I see—” Felix beams, looking quite relieved at the reassurance even though he hadn’t explicitly mentioned anything about feeling like he’s upset Seungmin. “You’re Kim Seungmin, though— your birthday deserves to be a break from all the stress.”

“I— well,” Seungmin laughs, but nods in agreement. “Thank you.”

They stand there, cautiously regarding each other on the steps of the apartment building; Felix rubs the back of his neck, and Seungmin shifts his weight from one foot to the other.

“Hey Seungmin,” Felix starts, his tone softer, and quite nervous. “Can I ask you something?”

Seungmin’s heart makes a loud thumb against his rib cage, and Seungmin looks up to meet Felix’s gaze, all kinds of possibilities running through his head as to what it is Felix is about to ask. “Yeah?”

“Well—” Felix chuckles nervously. “Maybe it’s none of my business, actually, but— I guess since we haven’t really been able to talk a lot recently, I figured maybe I just wasn’t updated with what was going on in your life—”

“Felix,” Seungmin smiles gently. “Just ask away,” he prods. “What do you want to know?”

“Okay, I’ll just ask then!” Felix grins, but it’s more on the uneasy side, and not his usual sunshine smile. “Do you… like Jeongin? I mean— is there something going on between the two of you?”

“Huh—?” Seungmin stares at Felix blankly, perplexed as to where Felix even got this idea from. “What—?” He repeats, except now it’s slowly dawning on him that he _has_ been spending more time than usual with Jeongin. The younger male is taking Structural Mechanics that term, which Seungmin had aced the year before, under the same professor, so he’s been helping Jeongin out a lot. It was just another way for him to occupy time so he can avoid acting on his dangerously distracting feelings for Felix and it never occurred to him that Felix, of all people, could actually read into it differently. “No— Jeongin’s just a junior at school,” he explains softly. “I don’t like him like that— like any special way or anything.”

“I see. That’s… good, I guess?” Felix smiles, and laughs quietly, and the expression of relief that passes by his features gives Seungmin more reason to _hope,_ and he almost wants to clarify, _You, I like_ _you_ , but just the thought of the words has him blushing deeply so he holds back the words.

“Do you want to come upstairs?” He finds himself asking instead, under his breath and almost inaudible.

“What was that?” Felix asks, and Seungmin has to pause and take a deep breath, before he repeats,

“Do you want to come upstairs?”

“Is that okay—?” Felix answers, looking more surprised at the invitation than Seungmin thinks he should be. “I really just wanted to drop your gift off.”

“Of course it’s okay!” Seungmin declares, his heart beating rapidly as he reaches over to boldly grab Felix’s hand. It feels incredibly small in his own hand, but also incredibly right as their fingers thread together. “We have cake,” he adds, doing his best to ignore the very loud thumping of his heart when he tugs at Felix, so the latter can follow. “You said you wanted to celebrate with me, and what better way to do that than cake!”

  


 

— ❦ —

  


 

**SWAGBR00z** [ 4 _members,_ 4 _online_ ]

 **meotj1** (04:54 PM):  
did it!  
finally done w my defense!  
aced it!  
GRADUATION HERE I COME!!

 **lix_the_cat** (04:55 PM):  
congrats jisungie!  
where’s seungmin?  
how’d he do?

 **hwhj2000** (04:55 PM):  
hey congrats!

 **ddaengmin** (04:57 PM):  
i’m here, i think i did well too

 **meotj1** (04:58 PM):  
don’t listen to him being fake humble  
u know all our professors love him!!  
so ofc he did even better than me 😤

 **hwhj2000** (05:00 PM):  
congrats seungminnie!

 **ddaengmin** (05:01 PM):  
thx u guys  
good luck on urs!  
it’s tomorrow right?

 **hwhj2000** (05:02 PM):  
yeah...

 **lix_the_cat** (05:02 PM):  
im nervous 😅

 **ddaengmin** (05:03 PM):  
don’t worry lix  
u and hyunjin will do gr8  
trust me!

 

“Hey guys, I’m going on ahead—” Yeji waves at both Seungmin and Jisung. “My ride’s here,” she explains.

Jisung grins and flashes two thumbs up at his thesis partner, while Seungmin returns the smile and the wave goodbye. They both watch as she walks away, and once she’s out of sight, Jisung turns to Seungmin.

“Hello, my very own personal ride,” he greets cheekily, to which Seungmin just rolls his eyes. “We should celebrate,” he adds, hand patting his stomach. “Let’s get something sweet and delicious before you drive me home.”

Seungmin supposes there's no point in arguing because at the end of the day they both know he'll cave in and drive Jisung home anyway. Besides, he's tired and he's just used up his last remaining brain cells presenting his thesis to a panel of highly esteemed professors and licensed architectural engineers, and he simply doesn't have enough left to waste on fruitlessly quipping at Jisung. Not to mention celebrating actually sounds pretty nice; the reception he'd gotten from the panel was quite encouraging and had put him in a very good mood, and he thinks this means cake would be well-deserved.

“Let’s stop by Coffee One, then,” he offers gaily, to which Jisung answers with an enthusiastic nod.

“So,” Jisung grins, tucking his phone into his bag and elbowing Seungmin on the side when they exit the Engineering building and start heading to the parking lot. “We did it! We really did it!”

“I mean— the professors haven't really submitted our grades yet.. and we still have clearance stuff to take care of…”

Jisung groans and smacks him playfully on the back. “Stop spoiling the moment!”

Seungmin snorts, and he allows himself to let out a big, happy grin because Jisung is right - they did it, they've survived four years of university, and they're through the worst of it. Come February, they'll graduate and set off into the real world. The thought is actually quite nerve-wracking, so for now that's even more reason to celebrate and revel in their current, rightfully gained win.

“Okay,” he agrees, laughing and sounding giddier than he's felt for a while. “Cake now, then cake again tomorrow after Hyunjin and Felix are done with _their_ presentation.”

Jisung smirks. “Right, Hyunjin And _Felix,”_ he echoes, snickering in a way that slightly worries Seungmin. “So, since we're graduating soon,” he gives Seungmin a pointed look, “maybe _now_ you'd finally want to tell me what’s going on between you and Felix?”

They've reached Seungmin's car in the parking lot, which gives him an excuse to take his time in answering Jisung’s inquiry. He pretends to fumble with his keys - never mind that his car has automatic locks - and he takes his sweet time in pulling the driver's door open, and even more time getting in and settling in the driver’s seat.

“Don’t think I’m going to be easily distracted this time,” Jisung tells him, yanking at the seatbelt after he gets into the front seat, and then forcing the buckle to lock. (Seungmin finds it a little annoying, four years and Jisung still hasn’t mastered the art of the seat belt buckle jiggle.) “So,” he says, staring at Seungmin after the latter finally starts the engine. “You and Felix. It’s time to talk!”

Seungmin sighs, but even though he wishes he can say that his bright and positive mood has been dampened… it hasn’t really. He feels nervous, and still quite unsure, but he finds that he isn’t annoyed at Jisung’s prodding, so perhaps that means it’s time to tell more people about it.

“Wait,” he wrinkles his nose, realising something. “Did Minho-hyung tell you anything?” It should probably feel more unusual, that the only person he’s managed to freely talk about this is the boyfriend of one of his best friends, instead of actually _one of_ his best friends - but it doesn’t. Even though Minho can be a little glib (and oftentimes obnoxiously teasing), he’s always straightforward and never minces his words, which Seungmin appreciates - at least he knows Minho will never give him plain lip service whenever he gets too lost in his own thoughts. Plus he’s always assumed that Minho knows how to keep a secret, except now he’s not so sure - Jisung is his boyfriend after all, and Seungmin is someone that he’s only really gotten close with recently.

“Minho-hyung?!” Jisung’s reaction thankfully tells Seungmin that he was right to trust the older male, but it also makes him laugh because the surprise and utter confusion on Jisung’s face looks ridiculous. “What does Minho-hyung know that I don’t?! And why does he know something that I don’t?!”

“I guess he didn’t tell you anything then,” Seungmin comments, unable to to keep the temptation to be cheeky at bay.

“Seungmin!” Jisung huffs, which makes Seungmin laugh even more.

“Well, your question is confusing,” Seungmin points out. “What was the question again—?”

Jisung groans this time, and maybe Seungmin is enjoying his frustration a little too much. “You’re annoying,” Jisung grumbles. “Just tell me what’s going on between you and Felix!”

To be fair, it _does_ feel like something unsaid has blossomed between the two of them. It was as if something had sparked on his birthday, because after that, despite all the stress, and both of their packed schedules, Seungmin and Felix had become even more inseparable. Where Seungmin kept piling on to his responsibility plate before just so he can have excuses to avoid Felix, suddenly he was deliberately making room in his schedule just to accommodate Felix’s free time.

One time, they’d been messaging each other in the middle of the night while both of them were working on their respective theses and Seungmin had uncharacteristically complained about needing a break, to which Felix had responded with a simple, ‘let’s take one, then.’ The look of gleeful surprise on Felix’s face when Seungmin had actually shown up at his apartment at almost eleven in the evening was completely worth the minor setback in Seungmin’s timetable. Felix repeatedly kept asking if Seungmin was fine, if Seungmin was _really_ okay with being pulled away from his work pile; “I was kidding around about taking a break,” Felix had pressed apologetically, and Seungmin had to point out that no one had a gun to his head when he’d decided to slip away in the middle of the night - he had done it just because he wanted to. (And because a part of him had _really_ wanted to see Felix, but he was too embarrassed, as usual, to admit that out loud.)

They’d ended up sharing a tub of ice cream while parked near the Han River, talking about anything and everything that had nothing to do with school or the mountain load of requirements and responsibilities that they needed to finish and accomplish in order to graduate. The entire evening had felt like a scene straight out of a drama and now, just thinking about it makes Seungmin blush, and he has to cool himself down by mentally reminding himself that nothing else had really happened that night. Even though it feels like there’s something unsaid between them now, that’s all it is - something _unsaid,_ and for all he knows it could all just be in his head.

“There’s nothing going on,” he answers finally with a sigh, eyes focused ahead as he drives down the road.

Jisung pouts, and then he sighs as well. “I mean— I’d accept if you don’t want to talk about it, still, but if Minho-hyung knows…” He sounds genuinely hurt, and it makes Seungmin feel bad because that’s really not it.

“Jisung…” He quickly glances at his friend. “I don’t know what’s going on, honestly. I—” He winces, and swallows quietly, his knuckles turning white as he tightens his grip on the wheel. “I do like him though,” he whispers. “I like Felix a lot.” This is the second time he’s said it aloud, and he finds that the gravity of the words haven’t lessened at all - in fact, it feels even truer now that Jisung officially knows.

“Ha!” Jisung claps his hands together and lets out a loud whoop. “Ha!!!! I knew it— I called it! I totally knew it!”

 _This,_ Seungmin remembers now, is why he’d been so cautious about letting Jisung know. “Shut up,” he mumbles, his face feeling incredibly warm.

“What— I’m just excited,” Jisung says, laughing loudly and practically bouncing on his seat. “I mean— I’m happy for the two of you, yeah? I feel like you’ve been dancing around each other for _forever.”_

“Huh? I don’t know what you’re talking about—”

Jisung tuts. “You _do_ realise Felix likes you a lot too, right?”

“I—” Seungmin shrugs; he _has_ been struggling a little with some of the things that Felix says to him. Actually, he’s been struggling _a lot_ in trying to decipher the meaning behind most of the way Felix has been acting around him recently. “I want to hope so?” He admits. “But I really don’t know— you know Felix, he’s sweet and nice to everyone.”

“Seungmin, are you _blind?!”_ Jisung groans. “The way he looks at you— heck, the way he’s been sticking to you these last two years— he’s with Hyunjin all the time, and he doesn’t _look_ at Hyunjin the way he looks at _you.”_

“...and how does he look at me?” Seungmin asks, his voice cracking because he truly doesn’t know how to feel about Jisung’s declarations.

“Like you hold the answer to _everything,”_ Jisung answers, plain and matter-of-fact, and Seungmin is pretty sure that his face has just turned a deeper shade of red because of that.

“I don’t know if I believe that,” he grumbles, and really it’s more that he doesn’t know if he _can_ believe it because he’s scared to.

“Seungmin, _please!_ Just listen to me— I know what I’m talking about!”

“Right, like it didn’t take you two whole years to realise that Minho-hyung was— _is_ completely whipped for you!” Seungmin shoots back; teasing Jisung is his attempt at calming himself down, and it’s working a little.

“Wait— _what?”_ Jisung looks taken aback, which makes Seungmin smile smugly. “Did Minho-hyung say that?!” Seungmin hums and shrugs, and Jisung scowls at him. “Whatever, at least _we’re_ together now— can you say the same about you and Lix?”

It’s Seungmin’s turn to scowl, but after a couple of seconds he just slumps back in his seat. “Well,” he starts, just as he slows down to stop at a red light. “Felix asked me if I was free on Christmas.”

“See!” Jisung grins, once more buzzing with palpable excitement. “That screams ‘be my boyfriend’ to me.”

“Jisung, he’s from _Australia._ They actually do the whole Christmas as a family holiday there… right?”

“Whatever, he lives here now,” Jisung argues.

 _“Whatever,”_ Seungmin repeats mockingly. “He also said it’s because he wants— _needs_ my help because Christmas falls on a Sunday this year, and he wants to prepare a nice breakfast for his sister. That’s all!”

“Okay, but he didn’t ask me _or_ Hyunjin for our help, did he?”

Seungmin purses his lips, unable to answer because Jisung _does_ have a point - except Jisung logic never really feels like reason enough for him to let go of his personal fears.

  
  


 

“Merry Christmas!” Seungmin greets, his smile is bright when the door to Felix’s apartment open, and he’s met with his friend standing there, looking just a little frazzled.

“Seungmin—!” He looks quite happy and relieved that it’s Seungmin’s at the door, and before the latter can ask him what’s wrong - before he can even say anything else, even - Felix is pouncing on him and giving him a big hug. “So glad it was you—”

“Wait, what—” He freezes momentarily; he’s used to Felix being generous with the skinship, but the warm feeling it gives him these days - he’s still waiting to get used to that even after a year. “Is anyone else coming?”

“No— no, no!” His smile has turned somewhat sheepish by the time Felix pulls away. “I’m just relieved. Sorry for making you come over this early.”

Seungmin shrugs; it’s not even eight in the morning so it _is_ quite early, but he doesn’t really mind. “I’m used to waking up early, you know this,” he points out, genuine in his assurances. “Where’s your sister?” He asks, after he enters the threshold, and he puts his shoes away.

“Not home yet.”

“Huh?” Seungmin is confused, not only at the absence of Felix’s sister, but also at how he should feel about said absence. Is he allowed to hope that this means _something_ more? Just like Jisung had implied, Christmas _is_ notoriously a holiday for couples.

“She went to a party last night with some friends, and then slept over at one of their’s—” Felix shrugs, hand tugging at Seungmin’s wrist to lead him to the kitchen area, where it’s obvious that Felix has already tried to start working on breakfast.

“So—” Seungmin can’t help the laughter that escapes his throat as he looks around; with a chuckle and a shake of his head, he slips off his back pack, puts it away and proceeds to roll up his sleeves. It’s now obvious that Felix had meant it when he’d invited Seungmin and told him that it was because he needed his help in preparing something special for his sister. He was silly for briefly _hoping_ for something more, but he tells himself that doesn’t really matter - he’s still spending Christmas Day with Felix, and that’s enough to keep his positive mood. “How do you want me to help? Wait— what are you even preparing?”

“I got Christmas ham— but we just need to heat that in the oven. _What I really want to do is make really nice and fluffy Christmas pancakes for my sister,”_ Felix explains, and Seungmin thinks it’s kinda cute that he seems to be nervous about this.

“Christmas pancakes?” He’s confused though - he doesn’t think that’s festive food, in particular. “Is that what you have back home—?”

“Oh— No,” Felix answers, laughing. “Back home we always have a  feast— _like, the works! Mum loves to cook for the holidays,”_ he adds, grinning at the obviously fond memory. _“You remember, right?_ My first two years here, we went home for winter break, but last year, we stayed because noona was just starting at her new work and she couldn’t take a holiday— so it was just me and her, and she kind of just made… pancakes. And bacon. And eggs—”  

Seungmin chortles, because now he kind of has a better image of what kind of Christmas vibe Felix is going for. “So like… your regular weekend breakfast feast?”

Felix laughs, and awkwardly rubs the back of his neck as if embarrassed - even though Seungmin doesn’t think he has any reason to be. “Yeah… basically—” He admits with a nod. “It’s lame, isn’t it? It doesn’t really sound like anything special but…” Felix takes a deep breath, and looks up to meet Seungmin’s gaze. “I guess— well, last year she prepared everything… actually, every weekend she always prepares so much— in general, over the last four years, she’s taken such good care for me, you know? And even though it isn’t much, I wanted to do something for her. So this year I told her I wanted her to sit back, while I try to do something nice for _her_ instead— this is _my_ Christmas gift to her.”

He’s being so earnest, and even though the act of sweetness isn’t directed at him, Seungmin can’t help but admit to himself that this quality of Felix’s is just one amongst the countless number of reasons why he has fallen for his friend.

_Fallen for his friend._

The words, even if just in his head, makes him feel nervous. The more he thinks about it - the more he admits his own feelings to himself - the more it gets harder to turn back, and that’s scary. Both Minho and Jisung have told him that he has nothing to be scared about, but even though a small part of him _does_ feel affection from Felix that often makes him think Minho and Jisung are right, the uncertainty makes him recoil each time.

“That’s sweet,” he murmurs with a smile, that he hopes can offer his friend some encouragement. “But— you needed me here because... ? You know I’m not exactly a great cook.” Seungmin knows how to make rice, and fry eggs but he isn't really someone who spends a lot of time in the kitchen. He supposes that he can at least can follow instructions well, so he imagines he won't do so bad with a recipe on hand but it's not like Felix can't do that on his own.

“Well—” Felix ducks his head, smiling and looking embarrassed _yet again._ “It’s Christmas and I wanted to spend it with you, I hope that’s okay.”

It’s _more_ than just okay, is Seungmin’s first thought. Felix’s words hits him right in the chest yet again, and he has to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from forming a silly smile. “Huh, well, have you at least looked up instructions on how to make pancakes from scratch?” He asks instead, avoiding Felix’s eyes by taking in the sight of the kitchen around him, making mental notes of everything that’s already set out for them to use.

“Oh yeah!” Felix excitedly lights up, and practically bounces over to the refrigerator where he points at the piece of paper tacked on it. “I even printed it out!” He takes it down and hands it over to Seungmin, who glances it over. “Looks simple enough, right?”

It turns out that it isn’t really as simple as it looks on paper. Mixing the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking _soda,_ etc. - is easy enough, but everything that comes after keeps making Seungmin second guess. At one point, instead of simply flipping a pancake over on the skillet, Seungmin attempts to scramble it, and Felix practically panics (“You’re supposed to just leave it be! I think—” he berated Seungmin, half laughing, half nervous, to which Seungmin had blankly argued, “Oh, but this is how you make eggs fluffy—”). Felix also keeps putting too much butter on the pan, because it’s supposed to be tastier that way, but Seungmin reckons that probably isn’t the best for anyone’s health.

“Oh no, I think it’s burnt—!” Felix frowns, after they finish the second batch of pancakes. “Not very festive—”

“Um, it just looks a bit crispy to me,” Seungmin tries to comfort him. “You can just decorate it more festively?”

Felix sighs, but he nods anyway. “If you want, you can make the eggs,” he tells Seungmin with a small smile. “Make them as fluffy as you want,” he adds, sounding just a bit teasing.

“So when’s your sister getting home?” Seungmin asks, ignoring Felix’s playfulness as he takes the reigns - he might have not been much of a help with the pancakes, but he’s perfected the art of scrambling eggs, at least. (He wishes he could make poached eggs, like Felix’s sister had once fed him, but he doesn’t want to help ruin Felix’s Christmas breakfast feast more than he already has.)

“Um,” Felix takes his phone out of his apron pocket (and he’s wearing that apron _really_ cutely, Seungmin thinks), and checks his messages. “She says she just woke up but that she’s on her way home— but that gives us enough time to clean up, at least.”

And that’s exactly what Felix does as Seungmin prepares the eggs, followed by the bacon; they work silently, but in harmony, Felix washing kitchen tools they’d used, before he goes on to set the table.

It feels oddly domestic, which makes Seungmin blush.

“Hey Felix…” he begins, after he’s done cooking, and he’s just helping Felix decorate a plate for his sister. “What are your plans after graduation?”

“Huh?

This isn’t what Seungmin had been planning to ask, but he supposes it’s better than a random offhand comment about how the domesticity makes it feel like they’re a couple.

“I— I was just curious,” Seungmin clarifies; he realises he really has no idea what Felix intends to do after university, and as a thought passes her mind, his breath hitches. “Are you planning on moving back to Australia?”

“Eh? What—?!” Felix gives him an incredulous look, before he lets out a cackle. “No— I mean, I might go back for a month or so, but I want to, uh—” He smiles and meets Seungmin’s gaze. “I want to find a job here. Seoul has my sister— and Jisung, and Hyunjin, and… you. I want to stay.”

“Ah—” Relief washes over Seungmin, but he’s quick to avert his own gaze, instead focusing on the plate that he’s garnishing with strawberry slices. “That’s good then,” he mumbles.

Silence takes over again, but this time it feels more tense than it had earlier. Several seconds that feel like a lot more pass, and then Felix speaks up again,

“Seungmin—?”

Seungmin hums when he looks up, only to find Felix’s eyes shining with a certain kind of curiosity when his own meets them. The latter’s mouth curls into a small smile, and Seungmin feels like he should say something - maybe ask what it is that Felix wants to say to him, but before anything can come out of his mouth, Felix is leaning in.

The next thing he knows, their lips are brushing against each other’s. Felix recoils when Seungmin lets out a soft, surprised squeak, and they stare at each other just for a couple of seconds, before Seungmin is moving to initiate another kiss, chaste and slow, but wholeheartedly earnest. He can feel Felix smiling against his lips even as the kiss steadily deepens; he tastes like the strawberries he had been snacking on just minutes earlier, and Seungmin can’t help but think he wants _more._

But then they both hear the sound of shuffling at the door, and the clicking of the locks, and they both pull apart at the same time.

“What was that for—?” Seungmin whispers; he’s out of breath and his heart is beating rapidly.

“I’m home!” Felix’s sister announces at the door, while in front of him, Felix simply smiles and gives him a quick peck, right on the lips.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a while,” he whispers back with a smile, right before he gets up and practically skips out of the kitchen so he can welcome his sister.

  


 

— ❦ —

  
  


 

“Guys, I want to take a picture in front of that big statue in front of the main building—!” Jisung demands excitedly, grinning as he rearranges the graduation cap that sat atop his head.

It’s been four years, almost exactly to the day, since Seungmin first met Jisung, and Hyunjin, _and Felix,_ and here they are, finally done with so-called higher education. Seungmin is filled to the brim with happiness, the feeling spilling all over and mixing with similar pride and delight that’s coming off his friends.

“Just one last shot in front of the Engineering building,” Hyunjin pleads, quickly handing his phone to his boyfriend, Changbin, so he can take more pictures of all of them - never mind that Changbin has already been snapping non-stop photos of Hyunjin (and presumably the rest of them) during the entire commencement ceremony.

“Do one where you toss your caps,” Minho (because _of course_ he’s there as well, with a bouquet of flowers for Jisung and all) instructs, grinning as he absentmindedly plays with the tassel of Jisung’s graduation cap.

They end up taking more than a few more shots in front of the steps of the Engineering Hall - it’s strange, now that they’re done with college, Seungmin can’t help but look at the building with nostalgia glasses. He’s taken to referring to it as the building that was once his second home, at least in his head - he knows if he says it out loud his friends are just going to laugh at him and there’s no way he’s giving Jisung that satisfaction.

“Ok _now_ can we go to the main building?” Jisung presses again fifteen minutes later. He’s just as loud and abrasive as he was the first day they met, and throughout the years of their friendship, it has often dawned on Seungmin that Jisung wouldn’t have been his first choice for a friend - but now he’s ready to admit that maybe that is exactly why it’s a good thing he became friends Jisung. The way they're opposites has allowed Seungmin to grow as a person in a lot of ways. “They say if you take a picture with the old man statue on your commencement day,” Jisung continues loudly, “—then he sends you off with luck on your future endeavours— which means I need a picture if I want to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company one day!”

“Maybe calm down and shut up a little,” Minho tells him, but Seungmin easily hears the underlying fondness in his tone. He’s almost forgotten that he also met Minho on that first fateful day of orientation, and that he’d formed the worst first impression of him. Funny, considering how highly he thinks of the man’s opinion now.

“Let’s go then!” Hyunjin chirps, and his smile is as bright, open and welcoming as Seungmin remembers it to be, and he can’t help but take a moment to appreciate that it’s that same smile that’s held their group together for the last several years. “I want some of that luck too,” he adds, humoring Jisung. “Won’t hurt, right?”

 _“You guys go on ahead,”_ Felix tells them, hand casually slipping into Seungmin's, catching the latter off guard in the process.

Seungmin gives him a questioning glance, which Felix simply returns with a calm smile. Jisung gives them both a weird look, but before he can say anything Hyunjin is letting out a high pitched giggle as he starts ushering the rest of the group away.

“See you guys in a few, then!” He announces; Seungmin thinks he winks at both of them but he can't be sure - maybe Hyunjin just has an eye tick.

And then, just like that, it's just the two of them - him, and Felix. There are other Engineering graduates milling about, obviously, but Seungmin doesn't really care about the rest of his peers in that moment, especially not when Felix turns to him, and he’s wearing the cutest, shyest smile that Seungmin has ever seen on him.

 _Sweet Lee Felix,_ he thinks as an assorted set feelings mix and churn at the pit of his stomach. He recalls not thinking much about him when they had first met - _pretty,_ was maybe a first impression, but nothing past that. He remembers even passing quick judgment after Felix had almost hooked up with Jisung within twenty-four hours of meeting, and even now that memory makes him wince, but— right now he thinks that Felix’s flaws are just as much an important part of him as everything else.

He’s easily swayed, and easily influenced. He’s easily attracted to people - but that’s because he used to _very_ easily opening his heart up to just about anyone. This is why he’s also easily hurt, but that’s what Seungmin thinks that Felix is one of the strongest people he’s ever met. He’s like a rock - a bright, shining rock, which, come to think of it, means he’s comparable to the sun, because isn’t that technically what the sun is?

“What is it?” He asks, his hand slipping out of Felix’s grasp, but only so he can adjust and thread their fingers together instead. Seungmin still has no idea what they are, but he thinks he’s ready to stop being afraid now. He wants to move forward with Felix, and he’s finally ready to say something about it.

“Hyunjin…” Felix trails off, chuckling softly. He’s being adorably timid, and it makes Seungmin squeeze his hand in comfort. “Well,” he continues finally after taking a deep breath, “Hyunjin told me I should make things clear, because you’re the type who needs to have things clear and— I realised he’s right?”

“What do you mean…?” Seungmin takes a step closer, head tilted so he can get a better look at Felix’s expression. His heart is racing now, but he simply nods, encouraging Felix to continue.

“I— _I like you, Seungmin,”_ Felix whispers, his tone gravelly but sincere. “Actually, I think—” He laughs and looks away, and from the close distance, Seungmin notices how deeply red his cheeks are. _“I think I’m in love with you.”_

Seungmin’s eyes widen in shock - a part of him had expected the confession, really, but he hadn’t expected Felix to put it that way.

“I’m sorry—” Felix’s voice cracks, and Seungmin actually finds it _charming._ “Maybe that’s too much—?” He ducks his head and tries to pull his hand away, but Seungmin tightens his grip and refuses to let go. That seems to embolden Felix, he lifts his chin and meets his gaze once more. “I’m in love with you,” he repeats, and this time there’s a small, bashful smile that’s tugging at his lips. “You’ve been by my side all these years, and I don’t know when it happened, really— but I like myself a lot when I’m with you. You make me laugh, even without cracking a joke— and you make me feel smart— and you make me feel like I—” His breath hitches, and he lets out another soft bellow. “You make me happy, is what I’m trying to say.”

Seungmin stares at him, quiet at first because he isn’t sure how to respond. He hadn’t even considered _love_ in the equation, and hearing Felix say it has his heart pounding louder, _faster._ And yet, it’s not in a bad way at all. It feels good, even, and soon a wide grin is curving on his lips.

It doesn’t feel scary - he just feels _ready,_ which is why the next words out of his mouth are,

“I love you too, Felix.”

How naturally the words slide off his tongue are even more of a surprise to him. Warmth blooms in his chest -  a kind of tingly warmth that prompts him to repeat, albeit softer, “I love you too.”

When he dares to meet Felix’s eyes, he finds that they’re sparkling with _joy,_ and Seungmin thinks _this_ is why he loves him. And then Felix’s arms are circling around him tightly, and Seungmin is being pulled close against the smaller male.

“So, to be clear—” Seungmin can’t help but laugh as he inadvertently inhales Felix’s scent; he pulls away, grinning when he continues, “Because as you said— I like having things clear and proper—”

“Seungmin,” Felix interrupts him, his boisterous laughter mixing with Seungmin’s more tentative one. “So we’re a hundred percent clear, answer this, then— are you willing to be stuck with me as your boyfriend?”

Seungmin feels blood rushing to his face; he’s pretty sure people are casting curious glances at the two of them which means it would serve both of them well to be more discreet - but the overly cautious part of him is momentarily paralyzed and completely taken over by the part of him that’s bursting with happiness.

“Of course,” he whispers, leaning forward until their foreheads are touching. If someone had told Seungmin four years ago, that he’d be standing in front of the Engineering building at graduation, declaring his love for the seemingly ditzy Australian he’d just met, he wouldn’t have just _laughed_ at that person’s face. He probably would have scoffed, maybe even have gotten angry. But here he is now, feeling nothing but joy and affection. _“Of course,”_ he repeats, because it’s taken them four years to get to where they are, but it doesn’t matter. Falling in love isn't always a steep dive; sometimes falling in love happens slowly, gradually, comfortably, and you don't really realise until you're right there at the bottom.

And if you're lucky enough, you find that you didn't fall alone.

  
  
  


 

**END.**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ ☆ ] I hope you made it to the end, and found it entertaining even though it was just a lot of pointless, slow-moving fluff. I guess the point I wanted to make with this story is that love stories aren’t always dramatic, and that romance isn’t always instantaneous. You don’t always immediately click, and you don’t always immediately know. Sometimes, the person who ends up being the most important to you starts out as just another person in your life, and you don’t really realise how much they truly mean to you until much later.
> 
> [ ☆ ] Thank you for reading up to here! Posting the ending today, just as Seunglix MC’d together on MCD feels just right, haha. (Also! Yay for SKZ’s comeback! The outpouring of content is inspiring me to keep writing, even though I kinda wanted to take a short break after this.. so I guess we’ll see!)
> 
> [ ☆ ] As usual, feedback is always appreciated and welcome. ♥

**Author's Note:**

> As always, feedback is welcome and greatly appreciated! ♥ Other ways of reaching me include [Twitter](http://twitter.com/hanmings) and [CC](http://curiouscat.me/yiminho).


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